Plum and Cherry
by Immorura
Summary: Stephanie is called to help catch Mafia boss, Dente "Diamond-eye" De Esso, with the aid of an S.I.S member, Cherry Pavoni. The two immediately spark a new friendship when Cherry begins to help Stephanie make some important decisions while they're on the hunt for De Esso. One of them being whether she and Ranger could be together or not. Rating may change.
1. Introduction

Introduction

I have my own Original Character for the Plum Universe who is very, _very_ loosely based on me: Cherry Pavoni.

By based on, I mean we have similar facial features and characteristics and we both have Geordie accents. The rest is just wishful thinking.

Geordies are people from Newcastle-upon-Tyne in North East England- my hometown and birthplace.

Mine and Cherry's accents are mild but there are some places in Newcastle where some peoples' accents are very strong. I plan on using some Geordie slang in the story as well but I will definitely translate it through the character's dialogue.

Note: _yee_ [y-eh] -Pronoun

I want to warn you that I will have a couple of _Stars Wars_ references in the story. I should also say that I am not a Star Wars fan _at all_ despite my brother and mother making me watch it against my will.

I also want to apologise in advance to any fans if I get any of the references wrong. Please don't hesitate in correcting me because I do like and try to get my facts right.

Also, you can see images of my OCs on my tumblr page: **Immorura. Tumblr fanfictionocs**


	2. Chapter 1

My name is Stephanie Plum.

I'm 15 plus 10 or 20-something years old and my Italian and Hungarian genes gave me blue eyes and curly brown hair.

I was born and raised in New Jersey and live in an apartment building where I am the only resident without cataracts, hearing aids or dentures and have a hamster for a roommate called Rex.

I work as a bond enforcement agent for my cousin Vinnie who is lucky enough not to get his ass kicked by a mile long list of people.

I also work for another guy who is the Batman of New Jersey; Ricardo Carlos Manoso, or _Ranger_ to those who were in the know.

Ranger puts _Rambo_ to disgrace and makes Bruce Wayne look like an amateur. He's Cuban-American with long black hair held back in a pony-tail, mouth-wateringly toned mocha-latte skin and heart-melting brown eyes.

And I was about to walk into his office.

" _Babe,"_ His greeting for me and I was sure it made every other woman in town hate me.

"Hey," I greeted back, "I got your message. What d'you need?"

Ranger was leaning back in his office chair with his hands behind his head. "A couple of things," He nodded to the far end of the room.

I followed his gaze and my eyes widened half a centimetre.

A woman about my age stood leaning against the far wall. She had dark brown hair tied back in a high ponytail which went down to her waist; her eyes were big and glossy chocolate brown which went well with her olive skin tone. She wore a white tank-top with a black leather jacket, stilettoed boots and skinny jeans which hugged a bust and buttocks that would have put Beyoncé to shame.

She screamed Italian and she looked _scary._

But she smiled warmly and approached me while holding out her hand.

"You must be Stephanie."

I expected to hear a thick Italian tongue but instead she spoke with an English accent.

 _Well…I thought it was English._

It sounded almost like _country Scandinavian_. It didn't sound anything like the typical English accent I heard on TV. But it was sort of nice to listen to…

"Ranger's told me a lot about yee." She grinned as we shook hands.

Ranger stood up to stand in front of his desk. "This is Cherry Pavoni. She flew in from Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England yesterday. She works for the SIS and was in the SAS for a short time. She will be working with us."

I looked back at Cherry. "Wow…and I thought Ranger's job was cool."

" _Babe…_ "

Cherry laughed. "The job title just sounds fancy. But I've heard all about yee adventures of bein' bounty hunter from Carlos." She gave him a glancing nod.

 _It was really weird hearing Ranger being referred to by his real name…_

"An' personally, I don't think he gives yee enough credit."

Ranger stared at her for a moment before turning back to me. "Moving on, Cherry is here to help us catch a mafia boss; Dante _Diamond Eye_ Di Esso."

It was my turn to stare. "And you called for me because…?"

The corners of his lips twitched slightly. "Like I said, for a couple of reasons but the main reason is to help us in tracking down Di Esso."

"Yee didn't even tell her the good the part." Cherry sighed, shaking her head.

His eyes switched back to her, looking annoyed. "Because I thought you would love the pleasure in doing so once my men arrive." He said sarcastically.

Cherry gave him a sassy grin before looking back at me. "Has he always been this grumpy?"

I but burst out laughing. "I don't think that's for me to say."

"Yeah," Said Ranger irritably. "That's really nice."

Cherry nudge him with her shoulder. "I know you've got a sense of humour; yee just can't remember where ya put it."

I laughed harder just as the door opened and Tank- Ranger's right hand man, Lester – one of the top _Rangemen_ and Hector- the security whizz, came in.

They all stood to attention with one glance from Ranger _… All of them, I noticed, except Lester…_

"Tank, Lester, Hector." Ranger nodded to them before gesturing to Cherry who had turned completely serious. "This is Cherry Pavoni. She will be assisting us in tracking down De Esso."

He nodded to her.

"Dante _Diamond Eye_ De Esso, as you might already know, is a Mafia boss. He specialised in drug and human trafficking across Europe and the UK and somehow managed to escape the Italian authorities and government a couple of year ago with some of his men. With the help of some interrogations of former mafia gang members, we've been able to track him down in this part of the country; where he's continuing his business.

"It will be easy t' recognise him but it won't be easy t' catch him. As yee can guess from his nickname, he has a fake eye, what is supposed to be, made of diamond after he lost his real eye in a fist fight. De Esso really doesn't get out much, not just because of his appearance but because he never takes any risks."

 _Wow…_

She really knew a lot about him.

"Do you have a lead for us?" Tank asked.

Cherry nodded. "Yeah, word got out that he's hidin' in an abandoned warehouse between John Street and Whippany River near Morristown." She eyed them all up and down; almost like she was scanning them. "Yee all might be big tough lads, but De Esso is clever. _Psychotic_ but clever and, most likely, incredibly paranoid and unpredictable. Don't go bargin' in the minute ya lay eyes on the place."

"How dangerous are we talking?"

"How graphic d'yee want me t' be?"

Only he and Hector exchanged glances.

 _What was with Lester?_

"R rated."

Cherry smirked slightly. "He skinned a man and tore every single muscle off his bones. The poor bloke was a former member of his gang."

 _Okay I think I'll skip lunch today…_

"What kind of security does he have?" Hector asked.

She shrugged. "If I had t' guess, armed guards at every door and probably close circuit security cameras."

Hector smiled. "I'll be the judge of that."

Cherry smiled back.

We all looked back at Ranger who had been listening intensely. He nodded his understanding.

"Hector, you get started on a security breach. Tank, you track down the whereabouts of the warehouse. Santos… _Santos!_ "

Lester blinked as though he had been snapped out of a trance. "Uh Whu?"

"I want you, Stephanie and Cherry to find more connections to De Esso. We should avoid any flies on the walls."

Lester looked both delighted and terrified as he gave a single nod. "Sure thing, Boss."

"We'll start tomorrow morning."

They all nodded and walked out of the office.

I looked back at Ranger and my spidey senses started to tingle. I raised an eyebrow at him. "So what else do you need me for?"

He looked at me with a tiny hint of amusement in his eye. He glanced at Cherry while looking as though he was trying to find the right words.

Cherry rolled her eyes. "I need somewhere t' stay. He was wonderin' if you would be so kind cos apparently I scare the men here shitless and they look as though I might castrate them."

I laughed out loud at her brashness

" _Pavoni, you're freaking terrifying."_ Ranger said, leaning back slightly.

She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Who me?"

Ranger referred back to me. "Babe?"

I looked at Cherry. "I have no problem with you staying at my place. The only thing is I don't have a camp bed and I don't think my couch is very comfy."

She grinned at me. "I can sleep on the floor, no bother. It's really good for my back."

It didn't surprise me. She must have gotten a lot back pain as I stole a glance at her chest. _It made me wonder if they were real._

"I'll get your bag." Ranger said before walking towards the door.

"That keen to get rid of me, are yee?"

He made no comment as my eyes followed after him until I was alone with Cherry. The room was quiet until I turned to face her.

She gave me a friendly smile. "So yee get roped in t' his business too?"

"…I don't mind it. He pays well."

Cherry laughed softly. "So I've heard. Personally I think he can be a massive pain in the arse. Although he's not bad looking I must say."

I stared at her. "Not bad looking? He's a freaking sex god!"

She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. My whole face burned. "I've noticed; along with the scorchin' chemistry between you two."

My cheeks were on fire. "I think you're the first woman I've met who doesn't have to fan herself whenever Ranger's around…"

Cherry grinned again. "Hey, I won't deny he's bloody gorgeous but it doesn't change the fact that he does me head in most of the time."

I blinked at her. "Then why did you agree to work with him?"

"Simple." She said. "I owe him my life."


	3. Chapter 2

Cherry had only brought a small duffel bag which Ranger handed to her.

The bother and banter had ended between them as Ranger thanked her for coming all this way to help catch De Esso.

It wasn't until we were half way on the road to my apartment when I realised I had nothing stocked in my fridge or cupboards.

I didn't have the grocery money because my landlord decided to be an ass and charge me double for rent after a few bombs, fire missiles and water damage rearranged the place. Some of my FTAs held grudges.

There was only one thing for it. Take out for dinner.

"Do you like pizza? I don't have much in my fridge to make anything."

Cherry smiled. "Yeah, love it. Pizza is a rare treat for me."

"Rare treat? It's all I live on!"

She laughed. "My work schedule is mean. I have t' rely on a lot of people t' stop me from goin' hungry. I'm lucky if I ever get a look in for what's on the menu."

I had to grin at that. "What about beer?"

"I haven't had one in God-knows-how long!"

"What kind do you like?"

"Ever had a Newcastle Brown Ale?"

"No."

" _The one and only._ Tell yee what, I'll buy the beer and treat yee."

I had to be polite even if I knew it would cost me. "You don't have to do that."

"Don't be soft. Yee proved that yee've got more balls than the lads at Ranger's place. And it's the least I can do for yee for lettin' me stay with ya."

Huh, free beer? I think I found my new best friend.

I bought the pizzas at _Pino's_ while Cherry went to the 7/11 for beer.

She had bought 2 bottles of _Newcastle Brown Ale_ and a few cans of my regular favourites. After we sat down in the living room to eat, I tried a sip and nearly chocked on it.

" _whoa…"_ I breathed. "I thought I could handle my liquor!"

Cherry laughed. "That's what they all say." She took a big swig from her own bottle. "Pizza and beer is the key to a happy life. _Pizza_ _e_ _birra_ _è la chiave per_ _una vita felice._ "

I couldn't help but gaze at her fluent Italian. "This might me the beer talking, but how Italian are you? Tell me about yourself."

She laughed again. "You really want t' hear about my sob story?"

"You said you heard a lot about me from Ranger."

"True." She nodded. "Well, I was born in Tuscany. My mam was English and my dad was Italian. I lived in Newcastle - in England- until we moved back to Italy when I was 16; after I had finished school. My dad owned a Tannery and my mam taught English at a public school."

I noticed her tone went frosty.

"But not long after we had moved back, a mafia gang demanded money from my dad, sayin' that he had owed them for settin' up a business in the their area. But when my dad refused…they set the tannery on fire. I managed to escape but…my parents never did."

I felt my eyes widen. "I'm sorry…" I said softly.

Cherry gave me a brief smile. "My uncle Roberto, my dad's brother, took me in. He was the Bishop of Rome; Clement XIIV. He helped me through Second Grade Secondary Education until I moved back to England to attend Durham University where I got my Masters in Engineering and ICT. After that, I joined the SAS to work as an engineer for a while before joining the SIS."

"Nice." I quickly decided to change the subject. "I meant to ask, how do you know so much about De Esso?"

Her face hardened as she looked at the floor. "I was married to his brother, Antonio."

My shoulders tensed. De Esso was her former brother-in-law?!

"So…did you divorced him?"

She shook her head. "I was widowed."

Before I could decide whether to feel sympathetic or not, Cherry stood up from the sofa and pulled off her jacket and tank top so she only stood in her bra.

"Don't be sorry, Stephanie." She said. "He was almost a bigger bastard than his brother."

She turned her back to me and I almost forgot to breathe.

Across her back were long and angry knife scars. Cherry turned around to face me again so I could see the flesh-pink burns around her stomach and abdomen.

The word _Believe_ was tattooed across her ribcage, just underneath her bra.

"Before I left the SAS, I met Antonio when I went t' visit Uncle Roberto in Tuscany. He knew every trick in the book in t' charmin' a feckless lass like me. Before I knew it, I was married t' him, I resigned an' then everything went t' hell.

"A year later, I soon found out that he an' his brother were workin' with the same gang who killed my parents. When I tried to end things with him, _Pfft!_ He wasn't happy. I ended up bein' held prisoner in his home; I couldn't go anywhere without bein' _escorted_ by either him or a member of his gang. Until I couldn't take it anymore, I tried to fight back an' he slashed my back with a carving knife an' tried to throw acid over me."

Something clicked in my brain.

"Is that how you met Ranger?" I asked.

Cherry smiled and nodded. "Aye… _yes._ He was actually looking for Antonio but he only found him through me because of my marriage to him and my uncle bein' the bishop of Rome. When he found him with his hands around my neck, _Ranger_ shot the bastard dead. After that, he must have taken pity on me because he took me to his branch in Boston with him. He got me into to shape and taught me everythin' I know now about self-defence and using a gun. I probably wouldn't be in the SIS if it wasn't for him; I don't know where I would have been 6 years later."

I dropped my eyes to the floor as she pulled her tank-top back on. It made me think about how Ranger was my mentor when I first became a bounty hunter. He was like God's gift to women.

"Nice tattoo." I said, changing the subject again.

"Thanks. It's my favourite word." She smiled sadly. "After my parents died, Uncle Roberto always told me, I just had t' believe. Not in a religious way. He said if I believed, then I would have nothing to worry about."

What a sweet man.

"My uncle electrocuted himself when he pissed on a power cord." I said bluntly.

Cherry doubled over in fits of laughter. "How could yee say that with a straight face?"

"If you come from my family, you get used to it."

She sighed to sober her giggles. "So, is there anything that Ranger might not have told me about yee?"

My eyes narrowed slightly. "What has he told you?"

"Let's see…The one that sticks in my head the most is how nearly every car he sends you goes _boom_ , you work as a Bond Enforcement Agent for your cousin…your grandma saw him naked in the shower- _I won't even ask…_ and most of it was about how you've helped him a lot with catching FTAs. He really speaks highly of you."

My face reddened as she smirked.

"I thought he would talk about all of my disasters."

"Oh, he did. But I didn't believe him. So go on, tell me your sob story or joy story."

"Well…there's actually not much to tell…I was married and divorced when I found my ex being humped on the dining room table. I only became a BEA when I lost my job selling women's lingerie… I'm totally at loss of what to do with my life that won't have my mother drinking herself to an early grave. And I'm still wondering if I can make things work with my currently ex-boyfriend."

"You're in a love triangle aren't you?"

I looked at her in shock. "How the hell did you know that?!"

Cherry chuckled. "It was bloody obvious earlier between you two. But I noticed you keepin' ya distance."

She looked at me in the same way she did with the _Rangemen._ I'm gonna call it _analysing._

"Who did you fall in love with first, Ranger or the other bloke?"

"The _other bloke."_

She nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I've heard that if you have fallen in love with two people then you should be with the second person, because if you were really in love with the first person, ya wouldn't have fallen in love twice."

 _That did make sense…_

My currently ex-boyfriend was Trenton Police Detective, Joe Morelli. I've known him all my life and even lost my virginity to him when I was 16 and ran him over at 19. We were off again because of a disagreement over coffee needs.

After hearing Cherry's words of wisdom, I think this _off-again_ was going to be permanent.


	4. Chapter 3

I woke up to the smell of bacon before the alarm had gone off.

I got up off the bed and as I walked into the living room, I noticed the pillow and blanket I had lent to Cherry were neatly folded and piled next to the sofa.

I went into the kitchen to find Cherry already dressed in a pair of jeans, a blood red t-shirt and her stilettoed boots. Her hair looked freshly washed and was tied back in a long braid. She was cutting up pieces of bacon when she looked up and smiled at me. "Mornin',"

"Morning," I could only blink in surprise. "When did you get up?"

She shrugged. "About half six-ish, I went out for a while," She opened a cupboard door and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The shelves were filled with cans, packets and jars of groceries.

"The fridge is stocked too." Cherry said, opening it to take out a carton of milk. I saw the fridge was filled with butter, jam, jelly, cheese, cream, yoghurt, olives, beers, sodas, juices, eggs, ham, chicken, bacon and, to my delight, a massive box of doughnuts.

"I'm makin' cheese and bacon omelettes but it'll be a while until they're done."

"Cherry…You really shouldn't have gone to this much trouble."

"Oh please," She laughed. "I met ya landlord on the way out. Charmin' fella, when I told him I was stayin' with you, he said he was considerin' rising your rent if you were going to have guests. At least you won't go hungry now ya cupboards are stocked. I didn't forget this little guy either."

She looked at Rex's cage just as he came out of his soup can. Cherry cooed and waved her fingers at him. "Hiya mate."

"Did you walk all the way to the store?" I asked.

"No, Ranger texted me sayin' that he had some cars sent over in the middle of the night." She dropped a baby carrot into Rex's cage.

Rex ran over to it and stuffed into his mouth before running back into his soup can.

"Anyway, it was the least I could do for you lettin' me stay."

I smiled as I watched her beat some eggs and milk inside of jug. "Well, thank you. You probably saved me from starving. I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh hang on," Cherry put down the jug and picked up a shopping bag off the table before handing it to me. "I had a shower before I went out and I used the last of ya shampoo. I bought some more along with conditioner that'll last ya for a while."

"Thanks." I grinned, taking the bag and heading into the bathroom.

I was never going to let Cherry leave.

After I had showered and got dressed, there were two plates of bacon and cheese omelettes and two cups of coffee waiting on the dining room table.

Cherry came in and laughed at my dumbstruck expression. "What? Were you expectin' tea and crumpets?"

I hesitated. "I'm trying not to be stereotypical…"

She shrugged as we sat down, "I can't speak for everyone back home, but I do like crumpets and practically anythin' with caffeine in it."

"Has Lester been in touch yet?" I asked taking a bite out of the omelette and feeling my eyes roll into the back of my head.

"No, but Ranger said he'll send him over later on."

"Just as well, I need to go the bonds office for rent money. If you're not doing anything, why don't you come along?"

She nodded. "Alreet then, I'll even help with catchin' the FTAs if ya like."

I suddenly felt a lot safer.

My cousin Vincent Plum owns the bonds office and I still wonder why Ranger agrees to bring in his skips.

It's impossible to tell that we're related; Vinnie looks like a weasel sucking a cigar.

Connie, his receptionist and the life size version of Betty Boop, looked up as we came in. Her eyes went wide when they landed on Cherry.

"Hey Steph, who's ya friend? You better keep weasel boy away from her."

" _I heard that!"_ We heard Vinnie shout from his office.

"Connie, Cherry. Cherry, Connie." I said. "Cherry's here to help catch a mafia boss call Dente De Esso."

" _De Esso?!_ " Connie exclaimed. "I thought he was just a myth! Nobody's ever laid eyes on 'im!"

Connie's family tree is full of pure Italian mobs; her uncle Harry as great connections.

I glanced at Cherry, wondering if it was a good idea to mention that she was De Esso's former sister-in-law.

"Believe me," Said Cherry. "He's no myth."

Connie's mouth dropped just as the main door opened and Lula, my best friend and sometimes partner, came in.

Lula is a former prostitute who now works as a file clerk. She's an African-American plus sized woman who defies the laws of logic by squeezing herself into size 10 spandex and animal print clothes along with changing her hair colour and style every week.

This week, she had her hair in electric-blue ringlets that went well with her neon blue dress and platform heels. Only Lula could pull this off.

"Hey Steph, who's ya new friend?" Lula said, looking Cherry up and down.

Cherry turned to Lula and grinned. "Love the hair."

I was half expecting the blue ringlets to glow as Lula's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Aw sweet, an English gal an' she has great taste too!"

"Lula, this is Cherry. Cherry, this is Lula." I repeated.

" _Cherry._ That's a cute name an' you got a cute accent too. I thought people from the UK all spoke with tha' accent like on the TV…Wha's it called… _Cocky?"_

"Cockney," Cherry corrected. "I grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne which is in the North of England so I have, what we call, a Geordie accent."

Lula grinned at me. "Where did ya find her, Steph? Brains, beauty and sense of style! We don't find many of them 'round here."

"Ranger." I said bluntly.

"Oh…" Connie awed. "I remember 'im tellin' me about callin' someone from the Secret Intelligence Service."

"The what-now?" Lula asked.

"The SIS or MI6 as it's usually known as." Connie explained.

I looked at Connie. "How come Ranger tells you everything that goes on?"

She shrugged. "I know people an' I have lotsa connections."

 _I couldn't really argue with that…_

"Got anything for me?" I asked.

Connie shifted through some files and nodded. "Yep, got one right here."

She handed it to me.

"I gotta warn ya, Steph, the weirdos are never as harmless as they seem…"

I opened the file and mentally faced palmed myself. _Why do I always get the weirdos?_

 _Jed 'the hut' Markesan - Arrested for stealing Star Wars merchandise and false imprisonment._

He looked harmless in his mugshot; chubby features, messy hair, big eyes with dilated pupils. He reminded me of a fat cat.

"Give me a break…"

"I'm surprised he didn't change his name to _Jedi._ " Cherry said, reading it over my shoulder. "Least you'll get a few grand off of him."

"I gave him a call the other day but his mother answered sayin' he had planned on spendin' the week at his friend's house." Connie said, scribbling on a piece of paper. "They're having some Star Wars marathon or something... _I have no idea what it is…_ Here's the address."

"Thanks." I looked at Lula. "Are you coming?"

Lula looked at Cherry and grinned. "If Cherry's goin' with you, I don't think you'll need me."

Jed's friend's home was a detached house in a small neighbourhood which stuck out from the rest of the houses like a sore thumb.

Most of the windows were boarded up with cardboard and the front lawn looked as though it had seen better days.

"How old are these lads?" Cherry asked, looking through the file.

"Early 40s, late 30s."

"Mentally or physically?"

"I can't answer that…"

"Want me t' be back up, just in case?"

I looked at the house again which was now blaring out movie sound effects. "Yeah. Definitely. I wouldn't be surprised if they had Dark Vader frozen inside some… _carbon concrete_."

"If they try anythin' funny, I'll make sure they'll never breed."

"That's reassuring."

I got out of the car and took in a deep breath.

 _You can do this Stephanie. You've dealt with weirdos and nerds before._

I knocked on the door with my foot so it was loud enough to be heard over the sound effects. _What the hell were they doing in there?_

The door finally opened and I was met face to face with Jed Markesan.

"Jed Markesan?" I asked.

He didn't answer. He only stared at me like I was something to eat.

"I'm from Vincent Plum's bail bond office. You missed your court date and I need to take you in to reschedule."

Again, nothing.

 _I didn't have time for this._

"Are you listening to me or do I have to zap you with my stun-gun?!"

He grinned suddenly. "Hey guys! There's a girl here and she's perfect for the part!"

"What part?"

2 more men appeared at the front door; one was skinny with square glasses and the other was tall and beefy. I noticed all of them were wearing Star Wars themed shirts.

"Yeah…" Said the skinny guy. "Ya right, Jed. I'll go tell the others!"

I did not like where this was going…

"Look, I don't have time for- _hey let go of me!"_

Both of them grabbed me by the arms and dragged me inside. The door was slammed shut before I was hauled up a flight of stairs.


	5. Chapter 4

Okay. When this was all over, I'm going to join a feminist group and propose we hunt down George Lucas for giving a bunch of nerds a load of stupid ideas and wipe him off the face of the earth.

Connie was right. The weirdos were never as harmless as they seemed as I found out why Markesan was called Jed _the hut_ and why he was arrested for false imprisonment.

After he and his friends dragged me into the house, they actually had the nerve to strip me down and dress me in Princess Leia's slave costume and attach a dog collar and lead around my neck.

I was so looking forward to watching Cherry castrate them all.

I was sitting with my head in my hand on a sofa with Markesan who held the other end of the dog lead.

He was wearing a _Jabba the Hut_ t-shirt while his 2 friends who helped obtain me against my will wore 3PO and R2D2 t-shirts. There were 2 other members of the nerd-league who wore Star Wars alien characters I couldn't name from the second movie.

 _They all wore dorky t-shirts and I had to wear a skimpy costume?!_

It turns out their _Star Wars_ marathon was just them acting out scenes from the movies. I could feel my brain-numbing as they repeated terrible enactments with toy light sabers and space ships. I hoped Cherry would be here soon if she hadn't completely abandoned me.

I preferred Ghostbusters. It wouldn't be so bad if they were re-enacting scenes from that.

…Well maybe it would, but at least I wouldn't have to wear this stupid costume!

R2D2 and unidentified alien no.1 had just finished a scene. Which one? I could tell you. I had zoned out after the first 3 mini-plays.

 _Mother of God…Where was Cherry?!_

Markesan tugged on the dog lead. I nearly choked as he pulled me against him.

"Hey!" I huffed.

" _Koo Leia._ _Cha_ _too ma leia kankee_ _, ya_ _eel eema_ _lo_ _ka yah_ _lee."_ Markesan Said.

I stared at him. " _What?"_

3PO hurried to his side. " _The great Jabba will know you will learn to appreciate him."_

 _For crying out loud…_

"Look Buddy, I know you speak English! Are you seriously going to sit in here and play pretend while holding me against my will along with dressing me in a metal bikini?! That'll only add on to the list of charges on your file!"

He tugged on the lead again so our faces were almost touching. " _Lonta bo anna ma toto, ya_." He licked my cheek.

" _He is sure."_ 3PO explained.

"Urgh! Yuck!" I yelled, rubbing the saliva off my cheek. "I can see why you had trouble finding a woman who was willingly to do this part."

"Why? Because we're not sport stars or studs like the kind of guys you like?" Markesan retorted, pulling the leash again.

He was really starting to piss me off.

"Ok, 1. You don't even know the kind of guys I like, but _you all_ dragged me into the house, forcibly stripped me of my clothes and replaced them with a metal bra and panties; why the hell would the gross slug guy even keep her in a skimpy outfit anyway? They're not even the same species! And 2, I've seen the movie and if you pull the dog lead one more time, I swear it is going around your neck!"

" _Yee should really take her advice, lads."_

All 5 pairs of eyes landed on the door and all 5 jaws hit the floor.

I turned my head to see Cherry leaning against the door frame with folded arms. She looked at me blankly before _analysing_ the costume.

"I always keep my promises, Steph." She said before turning her attention to the group of drooling idiots.

" _Whoa…_ Jed, you got the wrong girl!" Unidentified alien no.2 said with his eyes wide.

"Yeah," Said 3PO, looking at her up and down. "She looks just like Carrie Fisher!"

Cherry looked at him. "Hey mate! My eyes are up 'ere!" She snapped, pointing to her face.

All of them shrank back a little. Cherry walked up to the sofa and stood in front of us.

"Now Markesan, are yee goin' to let my friend go an' come along with us t' reschedule ya court date like a good lad or are you goin' to make me do this the hard way?"

Markesan stood up, still holding the dog lead. "Give me one good reason why I should miss out on the _Star Wars_ L.A.R.P."

 _Oh, live action role play…wait, how did I know that?_

Cherry smiled. "Yee want a reason? _I'll give ya a reason_."

Before any of us could blink, she kicked him; hard in the balls with her pointy-toed stilettoed boots.

Markesan squeaked. He dropped the dog leash as he held his privates and fell to his knees.

Cherry turned to the door. "C'mon in lads."

Ranger, Tank and Lester walked in; 3PO, R2D2 and unidentified aliens no.1 and no.2 all recoiled back in fear.

Well at least that explains why Cherry took her time.

Ranger's eyes found me but his poker face made it hard to tell what he was thinking. For all I knew, he could have thought I looked damn hot in this costume or he was planning on making the idiots pay for this or he could be laughing inside his head while thinking about adding this to the list of my mishaps.

I hoped it was the first two.

He looked at Tank and Lester. "Cuff them and get them in the van."

They nodded and each of them pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"What the hell are you cuffing us for?! Jed's the one who missed his court date!" 3PO protested.

"You are involved with holding a lady against her will as well as undressing her and making her wear a revealing costume." Tank explained calmly as he handcuffed him. "You're all guilty of false imprisonment and non-fatal assault."

Tank was a big building of a guy anyone with even a little sense would not mess with.

3PO gulped. "Y-y-you d-don't know th-th-that!"

"Be realistic buddy, do you really think that we would assume a Bond Enforcement Agent would willingly play dress up with her FTA and his friends?"

"It would only be false imprisonment if she was tied or restrained!" R2D2 countered.

"Then why is she wearing a dog collar with _Jabba_ holding the lead? I'm pretty sure that's not part of the costume."

No one argued.

Cherry had handcuffed Markesan and was already escorting him out of the room. She smiled at me and gave a knowing nod towards Ranger.

When Lester and Tank had taken the rest of the mediocre cast out of the room, Ranger went up to me and pulled me to my feet.

"Did any of them hurt you, Babe?" He asked, removing the dog collar from my neck.

"Markesan nearly choked me with the dog collar and he licked my cheek. Does that count?"

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it over my shoulders. "I hope you mean your face."

I frowned at him. "He would have had a broken nose if I didn't."

Ranger nodded. "Let's get you home so you can change. I'll get Lester to hand in your body receipt to Connie once he and Cherry report everything at the station."

He looked me up and down. "Babe, you look good in metal."


	6. Chapter 5

Ranger waited in his Porsche turbo as I headed up to my apartment while praying that I wouldn't run into any of my neighbours who were likely to ask where my clothes had gone.

Ranger seemed to like me in the metal bikini. I think I'll keep it.

I quickly changed into another pair of jeans and pulled on a t-shirt when I realised that I didn't have my gun, cuffs and pepper spray anymore.

At least it wouldn't cost me grocery money to replace them.

Ranger had the Porsche running outside the door to the lobby when I came down. I got in and buckled up as he drove on to the main road towards the bonds office.

"I'll get Tank to retrieve your stuff." He said. "There's a gun you can borrow in the glove compartment."

I should be surprised but I was too used to this kind of thing from Ranger. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

His eyes never left the road. "You always look sad when you don't have your gun with you."

I shrugged as I opened the glove compartment to find a Beretta 92FS. I made sure the safety was off before putting it in the waistband of my jeans at the small of my back.

"Cherry told me how you two met." I said, after 5 seconds. "Would you have hired her if she didn't join the SIS?"

I noticed his jaw twitched; he was thinking. "Yeah, she would have been great if she decided to stay in Boston."

"You didn't mention that she used to be De Esso's former sister-in-law. Or that you saved her life."

He paused for a beat. "I thought it would be better to let her share that if she wanted to."

"One thing I don't get; Cherry said you went after her husband, Antonio; De Esso's brother, what was _Dente_ doing when you were after Antonio?"

"Exactly what Cherry had said; drug and human trafficking, we only found out about him from the United Nations with reports from Cherry. She didn't know what business he dealt in when he was still her brother-in-law."

"So…is the SIS involved in finding De Esso?"

"I can't confirm that, but it is likely since De Esso had done his business in parts of Europe and the United Kingdom. It's the Italian authorities who really want their hands on him."

"I see…So what did _Antonio_ do?"

"Typical Mafia work; forgery; assassinations; loan sharking, but I think his worst crime was what he had done to Cherry."

"Is that why you shot him?"

"I wouldn't have if I hadn't found him trying to kill her right in front of me. It was easy to claim that I had done it out of defence and in order to protect. The hard part was helping Cherry to recover; you wouldn't believe she was the same woman. It took a long time to convince her to come to Boston with me. After her training, I knew she would be beneficial to _Rangeman_ ; she can speak fluent Italian, she has worked for the SAS and has a Master's Degree in ICT and engineering. But I am glad she had gone to work for the SIS."

I glanced at him and smiled. "You did a good thing, Ranger."

" _Babe."_

Ranger parked outside of the bonds office and we both got out of the car.

We walked in to find Cherry and Lula sitting on the couch while Lester stood next to Connie's desk. They all looked up as we entered.

"What the hell happened?!" Connie asked. "Lester and Cherry came back with your body receipt, Steph."

I looked from Cherry then to Lester. "You didn't tell them?"

"Tell us what?" Lula asked.

"Cherry thought it would be better if you told them, if you wanted to." Lester explained.

I shrugged. "Turns out, Markesan and his friends were just roleplaying Stars Wars. _Shockingly_ , they couldn't find a woman to play Princess Leia in her skimpy bikini so…well, they had me do it."

"How the hell did they get the bikini on you?!" Lula asked. "I can' even talk you in t' wearin' latex."

"They stripped me first and then fastened a dog collar and lead on me. I think they were sorrier that they hadn't seen Cherry first."

"They wouldn't have stood a chance against Cherry." Lester smiled, shaking his head.

We all looked at him and his face went bright red.

"She brought Markesan down with a kick to the crotch and cuffed him in 2 seconds flats. She was great!"

"Thanks Lester." Cherry grinned.

Lester turned a darker shade crimson.

"What'a load of creeps." Connie Snarled. "Cherry an' Lester told me t' write out the cheque to you, Steph and for good reason too." She handed me an envelope with my name written on it.

"Thanks." I said, taking it from her and folding it into my pocket before turning to Ranger. "So what are we going to do about De Esso?"

Ranger looked at Lester. "Have you got any connections?"

Lester shook his head. "Not the kind we were hoping for, but I got word of an investigation near Speedwell Park. It's close to where De Esso is supposed to be hiding. There were some recent reports of disturbances going on in the area."

"I see." Ranger looked at Cherry. "What happened to the former mafia gang members who were interrogated?"

Cherry shrugged. "As far as I know, they're still in custody. I doubt they'd know anythin' about the disturbances, if that's what ya thinkin'."

"Perhaps," He looked from her, to Lester and then to me. "Find out what you can about Speedwell Park."

We spent most of what was left of the hour discussing De Esso. Lester went back to Rangemen to find out more about the disturbances in Speedwell Park. Once he had gone, we all decided we needed some lunch.

Me, Cherry and Lula went out in my car and drove to MacDonald's. On the way, Lula was suddenly interested in discussing my role as Princess Leia.

"What was the costume like?" She asked. "Was it really that skimpy?"

I rolled my eyes. "According to Markesan and Co. it was a rare replica of the actual costume Carrie Fisher wore. I wouldn't be surprised if it was stolen."

"Wha' did you do with it?"

"I left it at my apartment."

I could feel Cherry smirking in the back seat. "Ranger seemed t' think it looked good on yee."

My cheeks burned but I made a nonchalant shrug. "He said I looked good metal."

"Was it made out'a metal?" Lula asked.

"Just the cups and sides of the panties, the rest of it was red lining."

"I never liked Star Wars much. But I still thought Luke what's-his-name was kinda cute."

"I prefer Harry Potter." Said Cherry.

We came back with burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, milkshakes, McFlurries and a chicken dipper platter to share.

But as we walked through the door, I nearly dropped the paper bags as my blood began to boil.

Joyce Barnhardt, Jessica Rabbit's evil twin, stood with one hip stuck out. Even though I probably would never have realised what a pig my ex-husband was when I found him and her _doing it_ on my dining room table, I was _never_ happy to see Joyce Barnhardt _anywhere._

When we were in school, she went out of her way to make sure everyone was miserable.

I could tell by the look on Connie's face that Barnhardt was feeling extra bitchy today. I swallowed my disgust and resisted to smash the ice cubes from my drink into her ears.

"Here's your lunch, Connie." I said with an over the top happy tone as I ignored Barnhardt.

"Thanks, Steph." Connie smiled, catching on easily.

Barnhardt sniggered. "I heard from the police station that a bunch of nerds dressed you up in Leia's slave bikini, Plum."

"You don't say." I replied sarcastically.

"I hope they weren't disappointed when they realised the cups were too big for you." She smirked.

I looked at her and smiled sweetly. "I looked really good in it actually. _Ranger_ seemed to think so too."

The smirk disappeared. "It's obvious the nerds were desperate for a woman who wasn't inflatable. If I gave a damn, I would have shown them that D-cups are better than B-cups."

Cherry scoffed and looked at Lula. "She thinks her Ds are better. That's adorable." She looked at me. "Remember when I came in t' the room an' they all drooled at how much I looked like Carrie Fisher, Steph?"

I grinned. "Yeah! I bet they were all sorry they hadn't met you first. If you don't mind me asking…" I glanced at Barnhardt's chest before turning back to Cherry. " _Yep they're definitely bigger._ What size are you?"

"38-G and they're real." She looked at Barnhardt. "But how long did it take until yee could afford to get ya tits inflated?"

" _I didn't need to._ " Barnhardt sneered. "Have you ever been married?"

Cherry stiffened slightly but smiled. "Widowed."

" _Like that surprises me._ I've been divorced a few times but you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince. My first husband bought me this _Jaeger-LeCoultre_ watch." She held up her arm so we could all see the diamond studded wristband.

"That's nice." Said Cherry.

"My _second_ husband bought me a house in Park Avenue. _That's New York."_

" _That's nice."_

"And my _third_ husband bought me a Ferrari 348."

"That's nice."

Barnhardt smirked and folded her arms. "What did your husband buy for you?"

"He got me elocution lessons."

"Ha! I see they haven't gone to much use!" She laughed.

"Actually they did," Cherry laughed with her. "I used t' say ' _fuck off!_ ', but now I say; _that's nice."_

The walls shook as Connie, Lula and I doubled over with laughter. I couldn't see Barnhardt storm out the front door for the tears that streamed down my face as I tried to catch my breath.

Free groceries, breakfast and serving Barnhardt's ass to her on a plate. One more thing and I was going to surgically attach me and Cherry together.


	7. Chapter 6

"That is so sweet." Connie awed as Cherry pulled down the side of her t-shirt after showing us her tattoo. "I wish my uncle was that sentimental with stuff like that."

"Whoever did your tat is some fine artist." Lula said. "I thought he would have been distracted." She gave a knowing nod to Cherry's chest.

Cherry grinned and shook his head. "Nah, he was gay."

Lula nodded. "Y'know, I always thought about gettin' a tattoo but I can't decide what t'get and I don't know what'd suit me. I don't know about Steph and Connie but I think the word _believe_ really suits you, Cher. That was a real good choice."

 _I always admired Lula's ability of creating nicknames._

"I think ya'd suit a symbol, y'know like the infinity figure." Cherry said, cocking her head slightly as she _analysed_ Lula. "I think a lotus would look good on ya. It symbolises _life, light, creation,_ and _illumination."_

Connie and I glanced at each other before nodding out agreement.

"I think Cherry's right, Lula." I said, looking at her blue curls. "You definitely are all those things."

Lula thought for a moment before nodding with a growing grin. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"An' word of advice; whatever ya get, I would get it done with white or any bright coloured ink. It'll look great contrasted against ya skin tone." Cherry advised.

"I'll _definitely_ consider that."

The door opened and I fought down a frustrated groan as my currently off ex-boyfriend, Joseph Morelli: Police Detective of the Trenton PD, walked in.

I've known him my entire life. He's 6 foot of pure Italian blood and stud muscle with black hair and dark eyes. He broke my heart when he relieved me of my virginity behind a bakery counter at 16; at 19 I ran him over and broke his leg.

"What'd d' we owe the pleasure, Officer Morelli?" Connie said with a smirk when she noticed my sudden change of mood. She wasn't getting at me. When she acted formal towards someone, it was usually a warning.

Lula pressed her hand against her stomach as Morelli walked past her while Cherry backed against the wall and leant against a filing cabinet. Cops gave Lula a stomach ache.

"Just dropping off some FTA files," He shrugged. "The guy who usually does it is off sick."

He handed her the files before looking at me and grinned. "Hey, Cupcake,"

"Hello, Joe." I replied.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with him after hearing Cherry's advice. Morelli and I constantly put our relationship on hold over stupid things. We were currently on hold because of coffee, which we both needed so we didn't act like zombies in the morning, and there was only enough for one cup in my kitchen.

"I heard about you dressing up in Princess Leia's metal bikini." Morelli grinned. "How come we never did anything like that?"

I frowned at him. "What do you mean, _we?_ You'd never dress up. You're too impatient."

"True. But I'd bet you looked hot."

It was my turn to smirk. "Ranger did say I looked good in metal."

The grin disappeared. "You're kidding me! _Manoso_ saw you in it?!"

"Yeah."

Morelli muttered something colourful under his breath. "I can't believe it…" He looked at me hopefully. "Have you still got it?"

I rolled my eyes. "… _yeah._ "

"Yee haven't changed a bit have ya, _Joey_?" Cherry sighed, pushing herself off the filing cabinet.

Connie, Lula and I all gaped at her.

Morelli spun around to face her with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. He blinked a couple of times in pure disbelief. " _Cherry?!"_

It was my turn to blink. "You know each other?"

Cherry laughed. "Oh yeah. We spent some time together when I was 16 an' when he was on leave in the navy by spendin' it with his family in Tuscany."

She stepped closer to him with her hands on her hips. I swear I heard him gulp.

"Y-you've changed… _a...a lot_ since the last time we saw each other." He stuttered, looking her up and down with his eyes lingering briefly on her chest.

"The last time we saw each other, my uncle had his cane on yee arse when he caught ya tryin' t' be _funny_ with me." She folded her arms and smirked. "So how long was it until yee could sit down again?"

"… _Not long…"_

Cherry looked at me. "Is he the _other bloke?_ "

I fought down a laugh and nodded.

Morelli gaped at us back and forth. "Wha' d'ya mean _other bloke?!"_

Cherry ignored him and smiled sweetly at me. "Y'know, Stephanie, the SAS are very charmin' an' are only a phone call away."

His eyes widened. "You know people from the SAS?"

"I've _worked_ for the SAS, Joey. Since ya here, what d'you know about the disturbances in Speedwell Park?"

Morelli frowned at her. "As far as we're concerned, it's just young offenders looking for trouble. Why?"

Cherry turned to me. "Can we trust him?"

I shrugged. "I suppose."

She looked back at Morelli. " _Manoso_ asked for my help trackin' down a drug and human trafficker. His location was pinpointed close to Morristown."

"I see…Got any names yet?"

" _You ain't gonna believe this…"_ Connie sniggered.

"Aye." Said Cherry. "Dente _Diamond Eye_ De Esso."

Morelli's jaw hit the floor. "De Esso?!" He turned to me. "Don't tell me you're involved too, Cupcake!"

"Okay, I won't tell you." I was still pissed off with him.

"Cherry, everyone thinks he's a myth! _Have you actually laid eyes on him_?"

Cherry went very still and her eyes hardened when he asked her that. "Yeah. Many times."

"Holy shit…" Morelli breathed. "The guy is like a freaking ghost! We've caught tons of his customers but they always say the same thing: They've never been to his hideout nor have the same contacts."

She nodded lightly and I noticed she was _analysing_ him. "Joey, I'd appreciate it if you would keep this between us. We're close t' catchin' him and the less people who know what we're doin', the better."

Morelli stared at her for a second before glancing at me; his lips were closed in a grim line and his eyes were serious. He had his cop face on.

"Okay." He nodded. "We never had this conversation."

Cherry smiled a small smile. There was a sound of vibrating and she took out a cell phone from her pocket.

" s'cuse me, I've got t' take this." She walked out of the main door.

Morelli turned fully to me. "Really, Cupcake? _De Esso?!"_

I nodded. "Yeah, really, _Joey!"_


	8. Chapter 7

"Did you and Joe… _y'know…_ "

Cherry and I were in the car on our way to Rangeman to see if Lester had found anything for us to work with.

Cherry laughed. "No. Uncle Roberto made sure of it."

"He nailed every girl in high school before he joined the Navy. I didn't think he'd _do it_ with other girls around the world."

"He could 'ave done. Before my 17th birthday in July; Joey an' his family came over to Tuscany to meet my Uncle to arrange some blessin' or christenin'…I have no idea what it was but he was still a man of the church after he retired…anyway, Joey started puttin' the charms on me, tellin' me how pretty I was and makin' empty compliments. A couple of days later he said since they would be gone by the time my birthday came, he asked me out and even bought me an early birthday present. Nothin' special, it was just a bracelet; although he had put a lot of thought into it.

"The night he took me home, I had my first kiss with him. He said since he would be leavin' Tuscany the mornin' after and offered to give me somethin' more to _remember him by_. Uncle Roberto must 'ave had his ear on the front door cos he came runnin' out. When he found his hand on the zipper of me dress, he whacked him in the arse with his walkin' stick an' chased him down the path!"

I burst out laughing and had trouble keeping my eyes on the road. "He _did it_ with me when I was 16 on the floor of a bakery I worked at before he left for the Navy. He said he would call, but he never did. When I was 19, I was driving my grandma's car and I saw him walking down the street. I flipped, slammed my foot on the gas and ran him over and broke his leg."

"Nice one!" Cherry cackled. "But how come he never called you? We still kept in touch for a while."

I thought for a moment as steam blew out my ears. "Probably because he didn't get the chance to _do it_ with you," I said without looking at her.

I felt her look at me. _"I can still get the SAS on the phone for ya…"_

The idea made me smile.

Lester was waiting for us in a private office. He only glanced up when we walked through the door before turning to the computer screen, avoiding eye contact. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Hi Lester," Said Cherry. "Got anythin' for us?"

I noticed Lester had turned bright red as he kept his eyes on the monitor.

"I…I think so…"

 _That was unusually honest of him…_

"I noticed a lot of young adults had been put into police custody for roughhousing and disturbing the peace in Speedwell Park. _But_ I also found a report from a couple of witnesses about a group of men _being rough_ with a few young foreign sounding women, which happened only 3 days _before_ in the same area."

Morelli had said it had sounded like some young offenders looking for trouble… "When you say _a lot,_ how many are we talking about?" I asked.

"I counted 9." Lester replied. "I hear there are more going on but that hasn't been confirmed yet."

Cherry and I looked at each other.

"Tha' is a lot…" She mused. "If you ask me, it sounds like a distraction."

I felt the cogs in my brain click. "You mean as though someone has asked for the police to be kept busy?"

She nodded. "Yep,"

Lester looked up at her. "That's a good point."

Cherry smiled at him and I didn't miss the enthralled shine in his eyes.

 _Ah ha…I think I see what's going on here…_

Cherry's phone vibrated in her pocket again. She sighed and took it out before walking towards the door. "Sorry, I won't be long."

I had to fight down a laugh when Lester's eyes followed her out of the room. They stayed glued to the door even when she was out of sight.

I smirked at him and folded my arms. "Lester, do you have a crush on Cherry?"

He jumped as though I had stung him and looked at me wide eyed. "No!…Maybe…Kinda… _yeah…_ " He got off his chair and looked down at me a stubborn glower. "I can't be the only one. Hector and Tank are working with her too."

I raised an eyebrow. "Lester, Hector's gay and Tank is… _Tank._ "

His cheeks started to glow red. " _What about you?"_

I blinked at him. "What about me?"

"Aren't you even slightly aware of her… _physical appearance,_ in a certain way that also... _overawes_ you?"

"I'm not that kind of woman, Lester." I said, shaking my head. "And I bet you don't even know what colour her eyes are."

He smiled suddenly and stared into space. "I do too. They're brown. Really _dark brown…and shiny…_ "

I blinked again. This was more than just a crush…

"What do you think her bra size is?" I grinned.

He frowned before looking back at me with a shrug. "I dunno. 36D?"

"Oh my God…" I laughed. " _You really do like her!"_

"What? Did I get right?"

"No! You were nowhere near! She's a _38G_."

He stared at me. "Really? Wow. I didn't even notice..."

"You must _really_ like her if you haven't been staring at her chest."

Lester smiled another goofy smile. "She's really smart…and pretty…and her accent is cute too."

I gave him an encouraging nudge with my shoulder. "Then why don't you ask her out when all of this is over?"

His eyes went wide with fear. " _No I can't do that…"_

"Why not?"

He looked away. " _…She scares me."_

I resisted to face-palm myself. "You got to be kidding me…Lester, you used to be in the army, you work for Ranger- who only hires tough guys… _or used to,_ and you go after dangerous criminals. Why would you be scared of Cherry?"

"I'm not the _only one,_ Beautiful." He retorted. "Even Boss admitted it…"

Yeah, that was true.

" _I would_ ask her, but…but what if we don't have anything in common? I don't even know how totalk to her…"

"I know a little bit about her if it helps."

His eyes light up. "Really?"

I looked towards the door but Cherry was nowhere in sight. "Yeah, but some of it is kind of personal so _nothing leaves this room_ _and you didn't hear it from me._ "

Lester nodded.

"Okay…She likes cheese pizza, Newcastle brown ale, Harry Potter, crumpets, anything with caffeine and her favourite word is _Believe_."

He nodded again with a small smile. "I like pizza. No idea what _brown ale_ is…I've seen the Harry Potter movies and I think they're cool…and _believe_ is a nice word."

I continued. "She's half English and half Italian. She was born in Tuscany but grew up in the North of England…." I frowned. "She lost her parents in a fire started by a mafia gang not long after they moved back to Italy when she was 16. She lived with her Uncle Roberto before going to Durham University where she got her Masters in ICT and Engineering." I hesitated. "…she's also a widow."

Lester's face fell. "Oh…then she probably won't be ready anyway…"

"Don't be so sure…" I glanced at the door again. "De Esso is her former brother-in-law…"

He gaped at me. "Wha…Really?!"

I nodded. "She was married to _Antonio De Esso_ after she resigned from the SAS. _But he made her life a misery._ She has scars on her back and around her stomach because of him. Ranger shot him dead when he found him trying to kill her."

He stared with his eyes full of disbelief. _"Whoa…_ Then she probably isn't interested in dating anyone anymore…"

I patted his arm. "You don't know that. I was married to a prick but it hasn't stopped me from seeing other guys." _Of course my ex-husband didn't try to kill me…_

Lester smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

I smiled back. "And who knows, you might be what she needs in a guy."

His whole face lit up.

Cherry walked back in but when Lester looked at her, his face went pasty.

I made a mental eye-roll. He was going to need some help. _A lot of help…_

Cherry blinked at him. "You okay, Lester?"

Lester opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before giving up on talking and nodded frantically.

She _analysed_ him before looking over at me. "Steph, Ranger just texted me sayin' he wants t' see us in his office."

"Okay." I nodded before walking towards the door.

I looked back at Lester. "See ya, Santos."

 _You drooling idiot…._


	9. Chapter 8

Ranger was sitting at his desk with Tank standing next to him.

Ranger was wearing his poker face but Tank, on the other hand, looked as though someone had called his mother fat.

"Tank found the warehouse." Ranger said, glancing at Cherry. "It was empty."

I heard Cherry mutter something in Italian under her breath. "That doesn't mean he's not in the area though. We've just spoken t' Lester and we've found out that an abnormal number of students had been taken into custody for roughhousing- _after_ some men were seen bein' rough with some lasses."

Ranger stared at her. "Do you have a number for _abnormal?_ "

"At the last count, 9."

" _Which has gone up to 15 now,"_ We turned to find Lester standing in the doorway with a file in hand. "Cherry and Stephanie suggested that it might be a distraction to keep the cops busy, Boss. Something ain't right for that many kids being picked up by the police. There's gotta be something there."

"I see." Ranger said. He looked at Tank. "Get a van ready. We're going to check out the warehouse again so we can all take a look inside." He turned to Lester with a brief glance at Cherry and me. "Santos, get the girls armed and wired and wait for us in the garage."

I squelched down a laugh when Lester's face went scarlet. I had been wired dozens of times which involved taping recording equipment to certain parts of the body.

He never had any bother attaching a microphone to my chest (when Ranger allowed it), but Cherry was 5 cup sizes bigger than me.

"Ok, Boss." He nodded and led us out the office.

…_...

" _Trust De Esso t' make a false trail."_ Cherry grumbled as we walked out of the room where all the gadgets and gizmos were kept.

Lester lagged behind us, his face beetroot red.

"Has he done this before?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It hasn't been confirmed but a lot of his associates have given details to different locations. All of them led to a dead end."

We met Tank and Ranger in the basement. Tank was already in the driver's seat of an SUV. Ranger opened the door for us and we all climbed in as he walked to the passenger side.

"I've already sent a team to search around the area of the warehouse while we search the inside." Ranger explained glancing at us over his shoulder. "If anything happens, _get out immediately."_

His words made a shiver run up my spine. Ranger hadn't even spoken to _Antonio De Esso_ but saw enough to shoot him dead. I couldn't imagine what his brother was like.

)()()()()()(

We arrived at Speedwell an hour later.

Tank parked the SUV in a wooded area close to the Whippany River. We all got out and followed him and Ranger down a narrow path.

As we walked, I caught Lester stealing glances at Cherry. He caught my eye and motioned me closer to him while letting the others walk a few feet further ahead of us.

"Didn't you believe me when I told you her bra size?" I smirked.

He frowned at me. "I did believe you, Beautiful. But I've never met a girl with a _G cup!"_

"And they're real too. She probably thought you were enjoying yourself when you attached the wires to her. You never take that long with me."

"That's because you're off-limits, Steph. Boss has made that clear."

I blinked at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," He smiled at me briefly before frowning again. "But back to my problem…How can I…y'know…get her to…to…"

"To notice you?" I finished for him with a grin. "I think you're doing well so far. Although you might want to make up for earlier when you gaped at her like a goldfish."

"Okay…" He hesitated. "What do you think I should do?"

I thought for a moment. "Try and make her laugh. She has a great sense of humour and you're the king of comedy at Rangeman."

Lester nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah…I'll consider that. Thanks Beautiful."

I smiled as the spring returned to his step; his ego recovered.

 _How was it that I could give other people advice about relationships but I couldn't help myself?_

Cherry was a godsend before I screwed everything up with my love life.

It wasn't long until the path came to an end. Tank bulldozed through some bushes and we all got a perfect view of a sorry looking warehouse.

It was made of rusted green panelled steel and decorated with crude graffiti. All the windows were boarded up while barbed wire hung lamely from the roof.

I recognised a couple of SUVs belonging to Rangeman parked adjacent to the warehouse.

Ranger looked at me and Cherry. " _Funny place for a bunch kids to be arrested_."

Cherry and I glanced at each other.

We followed him to one of the SUVs. He approached, Zip, one of the Rangemen who was armed to the teeth with several guns and knives strapped to him.

"Got anything?" Ranger asked.

Zip blew out angry sigh. "We've looked everywhere, inside _and_ outside but found nothing. It's like the place has been deserted for years."

Hector came to join us looking like he stepped in dog-doo. "I couldn't do a breach because there is _no security_ here besides a couple of padlocks and chains. There's nothing for me to work with. No cameras, no wires, no boxes. There isn't even any electricity!"

Ranger was quiet for a moment. He looked at Zip and Hector and said, " _15 young offenders have been arrested here._ Search the grounds again while we search the inside."

He led us to the open doors of the warehouse and we walked in. The place was bare and murky with rusted pipelines zig-zagging along the walls with matching set of stairs and safety rails on the second level. The only light came from the front doors and through the cracks of the boarded windows.

Ranger turned to me and Cherry. "You two search upstairs. Tank, Lester and I will search down here."

We both nodded as Tank tossed Cherry a flashlight before approaching the stairs.

I gripped on to the railing to see if it was secure just for my own piece of mind as Cherry climbed a head of me.

I caught up with her once we reached the top. "Just so I get a better idea of him, how crazy is De Esso?"

She looked at me. "He's always been paranoid about bein' caught since Ranger took down his brother…well, more than usual anyway. But he's not the sharpest tool in the box either. He's guaranteed to leave a trail of breadcrumbs somewhere if he panics."

I blinked at her. "I didn't picture him to be the panicky type."

Cherry grinned. "They always appear t' be like that until they know it's time for them t' stand in the naughty corner."

I grinned back.

We found a door standing in the corner. Cherry took out her gun, kicked the door open with her foot and barged into the room. She _analysed_ the place before motioning me in with her hand; her eyes were fixed to the far wall.

I walked in, realising the room was a small box shaped office room and looked to where she was shining the flashlight.

There were a papers scattered on the floor.

"Do you smell that?" She asked me.

I inhaled deeply. I could detect something that smelled like super glue.

"Is that…glue?"

" _Aye…"_ Cherry mused. "And I doubt it's the kind that gives you a buzz either… Let's take a look around up here."

We knelt down and picked up the papers. Most of them were written in a language that I couldn't identify but there was a smaller scrap of paper with a bunch of numbers and a couple of letters scribbled on it.

"Cherry, what do you make of this?"

She shined the light on to it before grinning at me. "They're map coordinates."

I blinked my astonishment. "Map coordinates?! Are you sure?"

" _I know 'em when I em'_. Whoever's been here must have left in a rush."

Her grin fell into a frown as she looked passed me. I looked in her direction and noticed a faint red light glowing in a corner behind a desk.

 _Hector said there was no electricity…_

Cherry stood up, looked over the desk and shone the flashlight downwards. " _Oh shit…"_

Well that didn't sound good.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. " _Bomb. 90 seconds. Run!"_

I stuffed the piece of paper into my pocket before following her out of the door. We both sprinted towards the stairs with our footsteps banging against the metal.

"Lads there's a bomb! Leg it!" Cherry yelled.

Ranger, Tank and Lester came into view just as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Stay clear!" Ranger barked to the Rangemen as we exited the warehouse.

We were about 30 feet away from the metal shed when _Boom!_ The tin walls collapsed on top of each other and erupted into flames.

My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath while we all watched the fire eat up at the warehouse.

"Besides the obvious," Ranger said. "Did you find anything?"

I nodded and retrieved the scrap of paper from my pocket. "We found this in a small office upstairs. Cherry says they're map coordinates."

I handed it to Ranger.

"That's not all," Cherry breathed with a cold look in her eyes. "Someone knew we were coming here. The bomb was an IED with a classic digital timer. The smell of super glue was fresh and it was stuck sloppily to the wall. Whoever done it, did it in a rush."

Ranger looked at the coordinates and then back at us. "Let's head back and see where this leads us to."

"Great." Cherry said as we started to walk. "I need a punch bag. _I fucking hate explosives!"_

Lester kept his distance from her.


	10. Chapter 9

Cherry's Italian temper was still simmering by the time we got back to Rangeman. Tank proved he had a pair of balls by offering to walk her up to the gym.

Ranger, Lester and I walked up to Ranger's office where he turned on the computer and typed in the coordinates.

He glared at the screen for a while before facing us. "One of them pinpoints the Whippany River. The other two locate Tuscany and a place in North East England."

"Cherry was born in Tuscany and her mother was from that part of England." I thought out loud. "What's the place called?"

Ranger turned to the screen again and tapped the mouse a couple of times. " _St. James' Park;_ it's a football - _soccer_ \- stadium and sits in the middle of Newcastle."

Lester and I looked at each other. "That's where Cherry lived before she and her parents moved back to Italy." Lester said. "Do you think De Esso is planning something in those areas that mean something to her?"

I shook my head doubtfully. "I don't think so. As far as we know, the only connection De Esso has to Newcastle is Cherry herself."

Lester nodded thoughtfully. Ranger looked at me with a raised eyebrow but didn't say a word.

A vibration killed the silence. Ranger took out his pager and a smirk tugged at his lips.

He looked up at us. "We're needed in the gym."

XXXX

Whenever I came to Rangeman, I mostly spent it working my part-time job doing searches in my cubicle or in Ranger's apartment on the seventh floor.

Lester and I followed Ranger inside. Tank stood near the entrance waiting for us with his arms folded. Cries, shouts and laughter echoed all around the room.

"What happened?" Ranger asked, looking amused.

Tank nodded to the middle of the room and it took everything I had not to fall on to the floor laughing.

Cherry and Hal, one of the faithful _Merry Men,_ were in the spot light of the Rangemen employees' show.

Cherry had Hal in a headlock and judging by the look on her face, poor Hal had kicked the hornets' nest.

Tank sighed and shook his head. "When Pavoni was on the punch bags, Hal went over to her, smacked her ass and asked if she wanted _to join him and 'think of England' someday."_

I winced and sucked air through my teeth.

" _Take it back!"_ Cherry barked. " _Go on, take it back!"_

" _Don't think just because you're a girl I'm gonna go easy on ya!_ " Hal retorted.

Cherry's eyes flashed. She tightened her hold on him, making Hal cry out a strangled scream.

"You better take notes, Lester." I smiled. I turned to face him but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Pavoni," Ranger called with a smile in his voice. "Let him go. Our insurance doesn't cover accidental death."

Cherry looked over at him, unimpressed, and dropped Hal flat on his face.

A Rangeman tossed her a towel; she wiped her face with it as she walked up to us. I noticed she was wearing a pair of black sweat pants in place of her jeans. Her red t-shirt was soaked with sweat. "Did ya find out where the coordinates led to?"

Ranger nodded slowly. "Yes, the Whippany River, Tuscany and _St. James' Park._ "

She blinked at him. "Y' mean St. James' park as in the football stadium- _in Newcastle?_ "

He nodded again.

Cherry shook her head. "I've no idea about the Whippany River, but it's seems too big of a coincidence that they lead to both my birthplace and hometown."

A thought flashed in my head. "Does De Esso know you're looking for him?"

She pressed her lips together. "If he didn't before he probably does now." She glanced at Ranger. "The last time I've heard from him was before Antonio died. I heard his name for the first time in 6 years when MI6 got wind of him."

"How did they do that?"

Pure hatred shone in Cherry's eyes.

"They caught some of his _minions_ smugglin' in people from Latina for human traffickin' across the English Channel." She breathed out a sigh. "They're the same people who were taken in t' custody before I arrived at Newark. I was the only one who hadheard of him _and_ had laid eyes on him when the subject came t' matter."

"So is that why they sent you here?" I asked.

She scoffed, " _Lucky me."_

Ranger placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go and hit the showers. We can carry on discussing this in the morning."

Cherry grinned at him. "Just like old times eh, Manoso?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Ranger's lips before Cherry headed towards the locker rooms.

I looked up at him. "You know, after narrowly escaping an exploding warehouse today, I think everyone could use a few beers."

He looked at me as though I had spoken a different language.

Tank grinned and chuckled. "I'm with Bombshell on this one, Boss."

Ranger stared at him for a nanosecond. "Go ahead. Get a delivery from _Shorty's._ "

It was my turn to stare. My idea was to go to a bar after quitting time. _Shorty_ was a guy Ranger knew who made the best pizza in Jersey.

"I didn't know Shorty delivered." I said.

Ranger grinned. "Only for me, Babe."

XXX

Cherry was back in her jeans and boots with a borrowed Rangeman hoodie by the time everything arrived from Shorty's. She had left her hair down in damp wavy strands.

We sat together in the corner of the staff lunchroom watching some of the guys play one of their favourite games: _make Tank spill his beer._

The aim of the game was obvious; Tank sat a pint of beer on his head while a confident contestant did whatever they could to make him drop his drink in any way they could; punching, slapping, kicking, pinching. There was never a winner. Tank was a walking building of solid muscle.

Lester, who had eventually turned up after the pizza was delivered, sat close to me while occasionally stealing a glance at Cherry.

When Cherry stood up to grab another pint of beer and slice of pizza, he leaned in to me and whispered in my ear.

"You know how you said that I should try to make Cherry laugh?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Why?"

"I need you to do something for me, Beautiful."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

" _Tell her that I am definitely not gay_."

I blinked at him as he stood up and walked over towards Tank. All eyes were on both of them as Tank smirked and placed his glass on top of his head.

Lester rubbed his hands together and balled up his fists like a boxer ready for a fight. But instead, he placed both of his hands on either side of Tank's face and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Tank jerked and the pint of beer smashed on the floor. Barks and howls of laughter filled the room as Tank swung his fists at Lester who quickly ducked, dodging them before chasing him out the door.

Cherry, with tears running down her cheeks, sat down next to me. "It is good t' see at least one of these lads has a pair."

When there was no trace of pizza or a drop of beer left, Ranger came in to the lunchroom and approached me and Cherry.

"Can either of you explain why I saw Tank chasing and yelling death threats at Santos on 6?"

We glanced at each other before bursting into fits of laughter again.

Ranger stared at us. "On second thoughts, it doesn't matter. It's getting late, I'll drive you home."

XXX

We walked into the bond's office the next morning to find Lula already lying on the couch reading a magazine. Connie was at her desk, filing her nails.

Lula peered over at us. "Tank told me about you two and an explodin' warehouse. What happened with you too and the warehouse?"

Cherry and I glanced at each other.

"De Esso holds a grudge." Cherry said.

Vinnie's office door opened and my weasel-hybrid cousin poked his head out. "What ya doin' standin' around?! I've got no-shows wasting my dough who need bringing in!"

"We just got here!" I argued. Vinnie was being more of an ass than usual. He wasn't drooling at the sight of Cherry yet so something must have pissed him off.

"Is this the _weasel boy_ I'm supposed t' avoid?" Cherry asked me while _analysing_ Vinnie.

"Yep," I said.

"And you two are supposed to' be related?"

"Don't remind me."

"I won't."

Vinnie's eyes bulged from his sockets when he finally noticed Cherry as though he hadn't heard our exchange. He stepped closer to us with a sleazy grin I had seen too many times before.

"Hey," He schmoozed before looking at her up and down while lingering at her chest. _"You'll do."_

If he had said that to anyone else I would have gagged. But to Cherry, I stood back to enjoy the show with Lula and Connie.

In a blur, Cherry grabbed Vinnie by the front of his shirt and kicked his feet out from under him so only her grip kept him from thumping to the floor.

She narrowed her eyes at him in a way we all hoped that Vinnie had an extra pair of pants in his office.

"If you want t' keep all your body parts intact, I suggest ya go back into your office like a good little bail bondsman."

Vinnie nodded his head quickly and Cherry let go of him. Vinnie fell on his ass and he wasted no time in scampering back into his office; slamming the door shut behind him.

Connie, Lula and I were all trying to cease our giggling as we wiped away tears of laughter.

"Now I understand why there was a debate about you staying at Rangeman." I sighed, sobering myself.

"I know. I am delightful." Cherry smiled sweetly.

Connie laughed before handing me a file. "I got one here for ya, Steph. It's a higher bail than your usual but we really need this guy in or Vinnie is not gonna stop bitching about it."

I opened the file and had to stifle a shudder.

 _Rod Morden. Charged for GBH, sexual assault and armed robbery._

I've seen some of Ranger's guys drop him off at the PD. He was exactly 6 foot of tattooed muscle with a shaved head and mean bloodshot eyes.

"Why the hell are you giving me this guy?!" I exclaimed. "Did I do something to piss you off in past life?"

"What are you so worried about?" Connie looked over at Cherry and grinned.

Cherry looked over my shoulder. "She's right. He'd don't look so tough. Let's go."

"Why did I listen to you?" I groaned once we were parked outside Morden's house. "This guy is a high bonded FTA. He's not going to make me play dress up like Markesan did."

Cherry was reading through files before she looked up at me. "In the S.A.S, we have a saying: _Who dares wins."_

I breathed out a sigh before getting out of the car. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime."

We walked up a path with weeds growing through the cracks. As we approached the door, Cherry stood at the side with her back against the wall. I knocked on the door before I chickened out.

The door flung open with a violent swing and Rod Morden appeared in front of me.

" _What?"_ He growled.

All the blood had slithered from my face. "Rod Morden, I'm from Vincent Plum's bail bond office. You missed your court date and I need to bring you in to reschedule."

Morden growled again. He grabbed the front of my shirt and dragged me into the house before slamming me against a wall.

I could smell marijuana and cannabis on his breath and clothes as he leaned into me. " _Listen to me, Bitch. Nobody is gonna take me back to the big house. Do you know what happens in the showers when you drop the soap?!"_ Spit sprayed in face as he screamed at me. " _How about I show you?"_

My heart was racing. Sweat beaded on my forehead. Blood thundered in my ears. I couldn't move.

" _You should be so lucky."_

We both turned our heads. Cherry stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Her eyes had darkened to pure black in a scowl towards Morden.

"Let her go. _Now."_ She seethed.

Morden looked her up and down. A sordid snigger wheezed from his mouth as he dropped me on my ass without looking at me.

" _Nice."_ He smirked. "I've never done a chick with a British accent."

He reached out to grab her but Cherry was quicker.

She snatched his wrist, catching him off guard before twisting his arm around so he faced away from her.

Cherry rammed her knee into the small of his back and Morden let out a grunt but before he could recover from the blow, Cherry thrusted the tip of her stilettoed boot right into the gap between his legs. Morden roared and swore every popular curse word under the sun as he fell to his knees.

"First of all _dumb-ass,"_ Cherry said wrenching both his arms behind his back. "There's no such thing as a _British accent._ I have an _English accent b_ ecause I am from _England._ If ya goin' to be douchebag to us, at least get ya facts right."

I took out a pair of handcuffs from the waistband of my jeans. Cherry took them and cuffed his wrists as she continued her lecture. "And secondly, that is no way to treat a lady. You obviously dropped the soap in the showers too many times."

Morden snarled and mumbled a string of colourful words as she got up off of him.

She helped me to my feet. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I think so…" I breathed. "That was terrifying."

Cherry patted my shoulder before grabbing Morden by the scruff of his shirt and yanking up right. "But you have guts, Love. I can see why Ranger likes you." She smiled and began dragging Morden behind her towards the car.

I stared after her when a thought hit my brain. I caught up with her when she reached the car and dumped Morden down on to the sidewalk.

"Wait a minute, why did you call Ranger, Tank and Lester when Markesan dragged me into his house but took Morden down singlehandedly?"

"Yeah, why did you take Morden down?!" Morden snarled.

Without looking at him, Cherry ripped open the car door and hit Morden right in the head, knocking him out cold.

"Yeah, about that…" Cherry chuckled. "Truth is I actually let myself in first before I called them. When I saw what was goin' on, I thought Ranger might like seein' ya wearing the bikini." She lifted up Morden, threw him in the back seat and slammed the door shut. "And turns it turns out, I was right."


	11. Chapter 10

I wasn't surprised at the gaping mouths and drooling cops staring at Cherry after we dropped off Morden. I was thankful Morelli was on his lunch break while we were there.

I offered to split the cheque with Cherry but she was happy if I promised to buy pizza for lunch.

After handing in my body receipt and cashing in my cheque we went to Pino's where I ordered a large triple cheese pizza for both of us.

"Ya didn't seem disappointed that Joey wasn't at the station." She said nonchalantly after we sat down at a booth.

I blinked at her. "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "You two aren't together at the moment and people usually avoid their exes; but with ya job involvin' going to the police station, I can imagine it can be awkward."

I stared at her. "Ranger's right. You are freaking terrifying."

Cherry grinned. "Noticing excruciating detail was part of the training back in the S.A.S."

I smiled back despite the sigh I let out. "Back to the subject, you were right. I was glad that he wasn't at the station. Usually when we break up we always _end up_ somehow _making up_. But after your advice…I just don't think it will work between us... _But we'll probably end up getting back together._ "

Cherry had her lips pressed together as she nodded her understanding. She looked around the restaurant and _analysed_ the room.

I did too.

It was mildly busy inside, the music was playing at a reasonable volume and the waiters and chefs were yelling instructions and orders to each other.

She looked back at me. "Tell me, do you _love_ Carlos?"

Her change of direction on the topic surprised me and made my face burn. There didn't seem any point in denying anything to Cherry. "Yeah _…_ I…I do…"

She seemed pleased with my answer. "When did you realise it?"

I cringed slightly. "It was kind of during… _unusual circumstances…"_

"Stephanie, I saw you in a metal bikini an' I hadn't even known ya for 24 hours at the time. Just tell me."

I swallowed. "Ok…Do you know Ranger has a daughter?"

Cherry's face brightened a couple of watts. "Julie? Yeah, she's a bonnie lass."

"She and I were kidnapped by a nut job who wanted to take over Ranger's life. He wanted Julie for his own daughter and me for his wife. He had us at gunpoint in my apartment and he made me choose between Ranger…and…and Julie… _she was only 10 years old…"_

I could feel my breath hitching.

"Ranger gave himself up to save us…he was shot and…and ended up with a wound to the neck and a cracked rib."

"Is that when you realised how you felt about him?" She asked softly.

I nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking," She lowered her tone. "Did you and Carlos spend any nights together?"

I felt my cheeks flush and redden a few shades darker but Cherry's face was serious. Her eyes were focused; she wanted to help me.

"Yeah and please don't ask me what it was like…"

Cherry laughed. "You needn't have worried, I wasn't going to. I know Joey did the dirty on ya- _the dodgy little bastard-_ What happened afterwards with him?"

I felt my blood boil. "He wrote about me on the bathroom walls of our high school toilets."

Her eyes narrowed. "He didn't even buy you a cupcake or anything?"

"Nope."

"And your first night with Ranger?"

The cogs in my brain were finally starting to function. "Before, he took me out for pizza and beer. The morning after he had a security lock inserted on my door when a crazy psychopath was stalking me."

She stared at me; her face blank but her eyes told me she was thinking. "Quick question, what does Joey think about ya bein' a bounty hunter?"

I blew out a sigh. "He hates it! He's always giving me grief about how my job gives him heart burn and how I give him indigestion from the stress or how he's always _worrying his ass off_ about me _!_ "

I took a deep breath from my outburst. Cherry watched me without saying a word.

"Aren't you going to ask about Ranger?"

She smiled. "I don't have to. I already know."

I gave an eye roll. "Of course you do."

"If it makes you feel better, I've come to a conclusion; but you'll have to forgive me for bein' brutally honest."

"…Go on."

" _You're a bloody idiot, Stephanie_."

Her answer came as sudden as a slap to the face. I blinked at her a couple of times until I got over the mild shock.

Cherry rested her arms against the table and leant forward. "I know that you have known the Morellis longer than I have; but believe me, I do have an idea what their family tree is like. A Morelli marries another Italian; the bloke goes out to work while the woman cooks, cleans and turns into an Italian breedin' machine."

She _analysed_ me again.

"I've only known ya for a couple of days an' I already know that there is no way you would survive that life style. In fact, I think you deserve more."

"Tell my mother that." I groaned.

Our pizza and drinks arrived. Cherry took a slice and took a large bite. "What's stopping ya from bein' with Carlos when you're not with Joe?"

I took a swig from my drink. "A number of things; like how he said that his love comes _with a condom and not a ring_ and that he said he loved me in _his own way._ "

She tutted out an empty laugh and shook her head. " _His romance knows no limits…_ Let's think about this though. By _a ring_ I'm guessing you mean marriage, right?"

"Yeah,"

"How long have you been with Joe?"

"… _a while."_

"And have you two considered tying the knot?"

"Once…we got as far as my mother getting me to try on dresses and discussing where to hold the reception…then we broke up- _again._ "

"But he didn't take you out to get a ring?"

 _Holy cow she was right…_

"No…He didn't."

Cherry pressed her lips together. She didn't say anything but I knew what she was thinking; _Morelli's love came with a condom and no ring too._

"What do you think he meant when he said he _loves you in his own way?_ "

I opened my mouth but no words came out. I never really gave it any thought. "I…I don't know…"

Her expression softened. "Exactly, you don't know what he means. For all you know, he could be re-planning his life to include you in it." She leant forward. "And he cares enough not to get you pregnant outside of marriage or give you anything… _disgusting._ "

She took another bite of pizza. "We both know that Carlos is a good man. My Uncle does too. After he saved me, Uncle Roberto gave him a set of rosary beads and- to put it simply- blessed his entire bloodline."

Wow. And people in the Burg once thought he was a terrorist.

We had finished eating when my phone rang. I checked the caller ID and had the urge to bang my head against the table.

"Hi grandma." I sighed.

"I need a ride to a viewing tonight and your father has that damn selective hearing again. Oh and your mother wants you over for dinner. We all heard about you cosplaying with a bunch of Star Wars fans."

My left eye twitched. "I can give you a ride to the viewing but I have someone staying with me so I won't be available for dinner."

"Then bring them over!" 

"I don't know…"

"We've got pineapple upside down cake."

 _Damnit!_

"….I'll see."

Cherry was watching me as I ended the call. "Your grandma sounds like a lot of fun."

I stared at her again. "You got all of that from one phone call?"

"I got it from the eye twitch."

We pulled up outside of my parents' house when my phone rang again and Ranger's number came up. I answered it and put it on speaker so Cherry could hear too.

"What's up?"

"We went to check out the Whippany River this morning." Ranger said. "We found a body of man with a note pinned to him. The guy had his back broken before he had, supposedly, drowned."

Cherry and I glanced at each other. "What does the note say?"

"It was another set of map coordinates. They lead to Haywood, Miami and Trenton."

"No rivers?"

"No. I want you and Cherry to stick together. I'll call you when something comes up. Be careful, Babe."

And he hung up.

"That was quick." Cherry said.

"The dead body or the phone call."

She smiled. "Both."

Cherry's phone vibrated. " _Bugger."_ She looked at me.

I unbuckled my seat belt and opened the car door. "I'll wait outside."

"Thanks, I won't be long."

I got out the car and leant against it while I waited for Cherry and the entire Burg to start spreading the wild fire.

The Chambersburg is where I grew up and where your expectations in life are standard. A man and a woman get married, they get a house, the man has a job and the woman cooks, cleans and pops out babies until the day they die.

Everyone knows everyone and you can get information here faster than from the FBI but privacy and secrecy is scarce.

"YOU!"

I felt my blood go cold. I looked up to see the scariest woman who walked the earth; Morelli's Grandma Bella; another reason to ditch the man.

Grandma Bella moved to New Jersey 50 years ago and has turned more Italian than American and looks like an extra in a Godfather movie. She has steel grey hair tied back in a bun, small beady black eyes and wears long black dresses all year long.

Everyone I know who knows Bella is scared to death of her. She's infamous for putting _the eye_ on anyone who she thinks is disrespectful to her. _The eye_ is an Old Italian curse. I always thought it was just a pile of baloney but it didn't make the woman any less terrifying.

I took a deep breath. "Hello Bella."

Bella stormed right up to me until we were 2 feet apart. "You broke my grandson's heart- again!"

"It's not my fault he needs coffee to function in the morning…"

"That does not matter! It's always because of you!" She pointed a bony finger at me. "I put the eye on you! Your breasts will shrink! You will never spawn _bambinos!_ You will never marry! You will die old and alone!"

I stared with my mouth hanging open. That was a little harsh…And her grandson was a jerk.

" _Bella Morelli!"_ Cherry stormed around the car. Her eyes were wide with fury and her teeth her were bared. I could hear a low monotone vibration and it took me a second to realise she was growling.

Bella's mouth fell open. " _Ciliegia_!"

Cherry placed her hands on her hips and started shouting in Italian. Her body language and the rage emanating off of her told me she was not happy to see Joey's grandma.

I had no idea what she was saying but I noticed Bella had turned pale with pure terror in her eyes. I had never _ever_ seen her like this before in my life. Cherry pointed a finger at Bella and then at me, saying my name.

She paused for a moment to lean closer to Bella and hissed something I couldn't make out.

Bella gasped, clutched at her heart and fell flat on her back- not moving.

Cherry tutted and shook her head. " _Nasty old hag_."

"Is she dead?"

"Nah she's always done that."

I looked at her. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her that my uncle had forbidden her from puttin' _the eye_ or any other voodoo on people- and she knew that if she does it again, I'll tell my uncle and he'll annul the christenings of all her living relatives." She pulled out her phone. "I got everything she said to you on video."

I blinked at her. "Can he do that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."


	12. Chapter 11

I stepped over Bella and we walked up the path towards the house.

The front door swung open and Grandma appeared. She was wearing a pineapple yellow jumpsuit and neon orange sneakers. She was smiling so wide I was waiting for her dentures to fall out.

"Stephanie, is this your friend you were talking about?" She eyed Cherry up and down.

Cherry smiled politely. "You must be Stephanie's Grandmother."

" _Yowza!_ A British gal. But you don't talk like the Brits I hear on television."

 _Mental eye roll_. "Grandma, this is Cherry. She's working with me and Ranger," I glanced over at Grandma Bella. "And she knows the Morellis."

"I guessed that when I saw her yelling in Italian at the old hag. That was a pip! I got the whole thing recorded on my smart phone. I'm going to have a great story to tell the girls at my hair appointment tomorrow."

We all walked into the living room. My father was sitting in his chair watching a hockey game. He looked up and did a double take at Cherry.

My mother walked in from the kitchen. She blinked at Cherry but made a mannerly smile that looked painful. "You must be Stephanie's friend. My mother said to set an extra place for dinner."

"Her name is Cherry." Grandma said. "She gave Bella Morelli a good ol' tongue lashing and put the old nag in her place when she tried to put _the eye_ on Stephanie."

" _I'm going to check on the roast potatoes_ …" Mom said quickly, hurrying back into the kitchen.

"I have to be honest, I didn't expect Bella t' faint and lie unconscious in the street." Cherry shrugged modestly.

Grandma waved her hand dismissively. "She had it coming for a long time. I'm glad someone, _other than me,_ had the guts to tell the old witch where to stick it."

She grinned. "I didn't actually say that to her."

Dad was eyeing her while looking as though he had cramps. "So…You're British?" He said, before switching back to the TV.

"British-Italian actually," Cherry corrected.

This regained my father's full attention. I got my Italian genes from Dad's side of the family. Dad wasn't racist or prejudice, but according to him there were the Italians and the rest of the world.

"British-Italian, huh?" Dad said, turning off the TV and gesturing us to sit down on the couch, shocking both me and Grandma. "So where are you from then, Cherry?"

"Originally Tuscany, but I grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in North-East England. I'm Italian on my father's side."

"Really now? What's your last name?"

"Pavoni."

" _Pavoni… Pavoni… Pavoni…"_ Dad repeated, creasing his brow. " _Where have I heard that name before?_ "

Cherry and I smirked at each other.

"Perhaps you've heard of my uncle, _Roberto Pavoni_ ," Cherry continued. "Formerly known as Pope Clement XIIV."

There was a loud _crash_ and a clatter from the kitchen. Mom walked back in to the living room, hands clasped with a brightened smile. "Frank, can you set the table with the good china?"

My mother only used the good china for extra special occasions; Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, _a visit from the former pope's niece._ It was a pretty white set painted with roses and carnations. Growing up, me and my sister, Valerie, never knew where Mom kept it because of her fears of it chipping or- god forbid- breaking. Only Mom and Dad touched the good china.

Cherry sat between mom and grandma. Mom sat at the end table with me beside her so Cherry and I were opposite each other. Dad sat at the other end, hovering over his plate.

"I almost forgot," Grandma said to me, dumping a spoonful of mash potatoes onto her plate. "I heard a bunch of Star Wars fans got you to dress up in Princess Leia's metal bikini. What was it like?"

I noticed Mom taking a glance towards the whiskey cabinet. As did Cherry.

"It was like a bikini made of metal." I shrugged, covering my plate in gravy. "Nothing special."

"I used to have one." Grandma smiled. "But it wasn't made of metal."

Mom sighed. "Why me? Mrs. Rostenkowski's daughter never wore a skimpy outfit."

Cherry frowned at her before turning to me. "It's a good a thing those lads _only_ wanted you t' wear the costume and that's all, Stephanie. It's a good thing I went with you or you have been there all day."

Grandma nodded. "Yeah. There's always a bunch of idiots who give a franchise a bad name and make the rest of the fans look cuckoo. I once camped out all night just to get tickets for the 4th movie. The internet hadn't gotten round to inventing booking online back then you know…at least I don't think it did."

Mom forced another painful looking smile towards Cherry. "So Cherry, you know the Morellis. How did you meet?"

We glanced at each other again before she replied. "My uncle held some ceremony for them while he was still a man of the church. Joey asked me out and after he walked me home, Uncle Roberto whacked him in the backside with his cane while chasin' him down the street when he caught him tryin' to pull down the zip of my dress."

There was a deafening silence. I had to press my lips together to keep myself from laughing as Mom sat frozen.

"I know Joey was a bit of a _Jack the Lad_ when he was younger, but I suppose people do change." Cherry shrugged.

" _Yes…_ " Mom agreed quickly. "I keep telling Stephanie that she should settle down with him then they would finally stop all this _on-again-off-again_ nonsense."

Cherry looked at her before turning to me. Her eyes were hard and serious. I could feel the vibes radiating off of her. "It is your choice though, Stephanie."

That earned another forced smile. "Yes, it is. I suppose Stephanie has already told you about her past relationships. We all make mistakes."

Grandma groaned. "For Pete's sake, Helen!" She looked at Cherry. "She only wants Stephanie to marry Morelli so she won't be able to see Ranger again."

Cherry stared at her for a heartbeat before turning back to my mother. "What's wrong with Ranger? My Uncle blessed his entire bloodline and gave him his rosary beads after he saved my life."

Mom's mouth fell open and her eyes went wide.

"Stephanie, didn't you tell them that?" Cherry said to me.

"It must have slipped my mind." I shrugged, trying to keep a straight face.

" _His entire bloodline."_ Grandma repeated, grinning from ear to ear. "That sure does explain a lot. He's a hottie… _a successful hottie!_ Stephanie you sure have been getting in with the wrong guy."

 _Tell me about it…_

By the time we left the house to drive Grandma to the viewing, Mom had finally overcome her shock.

After Grandma waved goodbye to us, I drove back to my apartment. It gave me time to think about the men in my life and it made me sick with regret.

Joe was a jerk and his grandmother was a bitch. So why was it so hard?

It was still early and none of my neighbours were in bed yet when we stepped in. I tossed my bag aside and said hello to Rex before flopping down on to the couch so my feet hungover the edge.

Cherry looked down at me. "You look like ya need comfort food."

I made a small pout. "That would be nice."

She grinned, patted my leg and walked into the kitchen.

An hour later, she came back and handed me a slice of cake topped with a dollop of whipped cream on a plate.

I thanked her, bit a mouthful and felt my taste buds explode. The cake was light and airy but not overly sweet. I was already craving more.

"Cripes this good!" I laughed. "What is it?"

"Cappuccino Angel Food Cake," Cherry smiled. "An old family recipe passed down from my grandmother with her special ingredient."

I smiled. "Love?"

"Salt."

For the rest of the evening we sat in front of the TV watching some movie from the 80s. Cherry spent some of the time scrolling on her smartphone.

I muted the TV and turned to face her. "I told you a lot of stuff about me today."

She looked at me. "Uh-huh?"

"I want to know more about you. Tell me something- anything." I might as well help Lester out while I'm at it, too.

She _analysed_ me with a smile and a raised an eyebrow before shrugging a shoulder. "Ok. My middle name is Mariella."

" _Mariella_ …" I liked the way it rolled of my tongue. "That's pretty."

"It didn't save me from being called _Cherry Pavlova_ half me school life."

I giggled at that. "What else? Tell me some more."

" _Alreet…_ My favourite colour is yellow, I'm a major Alice Cooper fan and I like Chrysanthemums."

I bobbed my head out of vague interest. "Now for some girl-talk; what do you like in a guy?"

She blinked at me. " _Why?_ "

Oh crap…. _think, Stephanie, think!_ " _I…_ want to know why you're not attracted to Ranger…and don't faint at the sight of him."

"Well that's easy; he's too serious…and he still uses a pager! Yeah, I know Carlos is a bloody masterpiece, but, as cheesy as it sounds, I like a lad who makes me laugh."

 _Lester, you lucky bastard._

"So…You're not with anyone at the moment?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. I've only been focusing on work since I started at MI6."

A clawing of doubt gnawed at my stomach. I tried not to cringe as I thought of how disappointed Lester would be.

"But if a guy _did_ ask you out?"

Cherry shrugged a shoulder. "Depends on the bloke."


	13. Chapter 12

"Do you recognise this guy?"

Ranger handed Cherry a stack of photographs of a blond man possibly in his late 40s.

She _analysed_ each of them for a full 30 seconds each before shaking her head. It had just turned noon and we had been called in to Ranger's office along with Tank and Lester.

"Can't say I have." She went through them again before looking up. "D'ya know if he had any tattoos or unusual scars that looked… _custom made?_ "

Everyone looked at Tank who shook his head. "Nope. But we did find this on him before he was sent off to the morgue; it was in his shirt pocket when we pulled him out the river."

He passed her a cream coloured envelope wrinkled from damp that was secured with a red wax seal stamped with an _X._ There was no name written on the front, but Cherry went very still.

"I know what this is." She said coldly, looking back up at us. "It's an invitation for the _Riunione di Famiglia_ \- Family Reunion. And by _family,_ I mean _mafia_. If the poor sod with the broken neck had this, but didn't have any tattoos or odd lookin' scars, then he must have been in someone's way."

"I take it this _reunion_ is where they all get together for business." Ranger said.

Cherry nodded. "More or less. They're hosted in either, Italy, Russia or parts of the U.S.""

I watched her carefully for a minute. "Have you ever been to these reunions?"

She looked at me with hard eyes, but nodded. "Only if they were within the Italian Border."

She turned her attention back to the envelope, broke the seal and pulled out a card covered in silver.

Cherry smirked. "Things never change."

I blinked at her. My first thought was that the ink had run. "What is that?"

"Gouache paint; it's over a laminated card. It acts a bit like the foil off a lottery ticket, which gives it a good disguise, and comes off with a lot of water." She took a quarter out of her pocket and scratched away at the silver. "Here we go."

She held up the invitation which was written in Italian. "It's being held at the Pinnacle Resort on the 17th at 7pm."

"So is there a chance of finding Dante there?" I said.

Cherry shook her head. "He's never been to one. Only Antonio went to represent the De Essos, butsince it's written in Italian -and not English or Russian- there is a high possibility one of their _friends_ will be, _and if we get a hold of one of them..."_

"We bring them back here for _questioning_." Ranger finished, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Not abad plan."

"Yep." Cherry nodded with a grin before frowning slightly. "Don't take this the wrong way, but they will be suspicious if a few unfamiliar Latin lads turn up. Especially if they find out that you widowed me, Carlos."

We all frowned at her.

"Then what do we do?" I asked, the feeling of dread starting to gnaw at my gut.

She looked at me. "It'll have to be us. You could pull it off easy if you avoid talkin' to anyone."

"What if someone recognises you?" Lester said, speaking for the first time. His cheeks burned a shade darker, but I noticed his eyes were serious.

Cherry blinked at him, but shook her head again. "I doubt anyone there would remember me." She looked at Ranger. "Antonio's old friends might think I'm dead for all we know."

"Okay then, but what are _we_ gonna do?" Tank grumbled. "Don't think we're gonna let you two go alone."

"I know that, but we can't risk anything. I can hack into the hotel's booking program and get us a room. That way, we can keep a low profile while you lot keep watch."

Ranger nodded as he glanced at his computer screen. "We've got 4 days. How long will it take you to hack into the programme?"

"Not long, that'll be a piece of cake." She said with a light shrug before glancing at me with a smile. "The hard part will be finding something for us to wear."

"Do you recognise anyone here?" I asked, as we walked into the lobby.

Cherry analysed the room for a minute before shaking her head. "No, but it's still early." She looked at me before nodding towards a hallway. "Go wait by the lift- _elevator_ for Carlos while I get our key."

I nodded and did as she said. Cherry succeeded hacking into the program and got us a room where the plan was to ask for a replacement key at the reception desk once we arrived at the hotel. I wondered how she managed it all, but she told me that the less I knew, the better. I took her word for it.

A minute had passed when Ranger came to join me with a black briefcase in hand. He wore dark jeans with a black dress shirt and suit jacket. His hair hung loose around his shoulders.

"Do you have everything, Babe?" He asked, sliding his arm around my waist.

I held up my travel bag and nodded. "I just left everything down to Cherry."

He grinned. "She is the expert."

I wasn't kidding. Cherry was very precise on what to find. Our shopping spree lasted 2 days; we had looked at so many designer brands I had lost track of all the names. While we were there, we also got a French manicure with a gel polish. Ranger had given us his credit card and I partly wondered how he'd react when he saw the bill.

Cherry joined us with a key-card in hand. "We're in a luxury suite- 9411."

Ranger nodded. "I'll let them know."

 _Them_ were Lester, Tank and Bobby. Bobby was the company medic. I didn't know how to feel that he was him coming along- I just hoped there would be no guns like in the gangster movies and no blood.

We rode the elevator up to the 9th floor and found the suite. Cherry opened the door and we went inside.

Thanks to Ranger, I had been in a few luxury hotel rooms/suites where most of the décor was beyond tacky (mostly due to them being themed) and way over the top.

But _The Pinnacle_ was very tasteful. The living room was decorated with blue striped wallpaper and a light blue carpet. A starch white sofa set with sapphire coloured cushions stood in the middle of the floor around a mahogany coffee table and positioned just right in front of a 60 inch plasma screen TV. A vanished dining table with matching chairs stood by the window which looked out a spectacular view.

Ranger set his briefcase down on the coffee table while Cherry and I headed into the bedroom which was decorated like the living room, only with a king-sized bed with white and blue bedding and a walk-in closet where we hung up our outfits for the evening.

It was 5:30pm, which gave us just under an hour to get ready.

Cherry told me to use the shower before she did, so I grabbed my toiletry bag and went in to the ensuite bathroom.

The entire room was tiled powder white with an azure blue shower curtain and matching robes and towels. I got the shower running, stripped off my clothes and got in.

I quickly shampooed and conditioned my hair in record time before lathering myself in a moisturising shower gel. Once all the suds were washed away, I wrapped my hair in a towel, pulled on a robe and walked back into the bedroom.

Cherry took more time in the bathroom than I did. She came out in a robe while towel drying her hair just as I had finished blasting my curls with the hair dryer.

She styled my hair half up half down for me so it was pulled away from my face and showed my ears. Once she had finished, I helped French braid her hair so it started at her crown and hung over her left shoulder.

After we had finished our makeup, we zipped up each other's dresses.

I smiled at myself in the mirror. I was wearing an amethyst halter strap mermaid gown that flattered my figure, and classy black stilettos. I looked great.

Cherry, on the other hand, looked beyond belief. She wore a strapless ruby red evening dress with a sweetheart neckline and a sheath skirt that had a long split in the side, with matching open-toed heels. The dress had a low back which showed her scars, but she draped a black satin wrap around her shoulders. A diamond cut ruby pendant hung around her neck from a chunky gold rope chain which drew a lot of attention to her cleavage.

There was a knock on the door and Ranger's voice came from the other side. "Are you two ready?"

"Just about." I answered, putting in my earrings. "You can come in now."

Ranger came in. His eyes landed on Cherry for a half a beat before switching to me. The corners of his mouth tilted ever so slightly.

"I guessed there would be a problem keeping wires out of sight." He said. "That's why I had these made." He held up his hand to show us a couple of gold banded diamond rings. "Small, but powerful, wireless microphones."

I grinned as he handed one to me along with an earpiece. "Nice."

"Wear it on your left finger." Cherry said, slipping hers on. "It makes a convincing engagement ring."

"We're connected to the hotel's security cameras." Ranger explained. "Lester and Bobby will be monitoring the screens. Tank and I will be on standby if anything happens."

We both nodded before heading out the room.

"Well this is nice," I said glancing around as we entered the ballroom. "I got to hand it to the mafia, they know how to throw a party."

Smooth music played as guests chatted and waiters in immaculate black uniforms carried glasses of champagne and fancy hors d'oeuvres on silver trays.

I finally understood why Cherry was precise with our evening wear. Everywhere I looked, the guests were wearing nothing less expensive than _Erdem_. I would have felt very underdressed if I been wearing anything else.

Cherry smirked. "Don't get too comfortable, Steph. We've got to find a friend to beat the crap out of later."

I heard Bobby's voice in my ear. " _You might not want to say that out loud when there's a couple of guys by the wall to your left looking your way, Cherry."_

I risked a glance to confirm Bobby's warning. A small group of men whose ages ranged from late 20s to early 50s eyed us like dogs outside a butcher's.

"Noted," Cherry said without looking at them before turning to me. "Let's split up and meet back here in an hour. If we've got nowt, we get out."

I nodded as we went in opposite directions.

Taking in a deep breath, I straightened my shoulders and put on my best flirty smile as I observed the room.

I took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, taking small sips while eavesdropping on conversations from anyone who spoke English.

30 minutes had passed and the non-verbal flirting with anyone I made eye contact with was wearing thin.

I was about to lose my patience until my eyes locked with a tall man standing across the room from me. He had olive skin, dark eyes and wavy black hair. I knew pure Italian when I saw it. He could have been related to Morelli (although knowing his family he probably was).

After sending him a sassy grin and a quick wink, which got me a crooked smile in return, I turned and walked away in a random direction. It always helped to play hard to get.

Cherry and I crossed paths 10 minutes later.

"I got a guy's attention." I said in a conversational tone. "He's Italian, no doubt about it."

She smiled. "Great. Keep at it. See if you can get his name. If not, let's meet back at the door in another hour."

I nodded and we carried on our separate ways.

A second 10 minutes had passed and I found my target by the bar at the back of the room. I finished the last of my champagne before sashaying towards the empty stool next to him, gaining his attention.

"1 martini, please." I said to the bartender, whilst placing my empty glass aside.

"Make it 2." Said a thick Italian accent. "And put it on my tab."

I turned to face him with a sweet smile. "Well aren't you a gentleman."

He grinned brilliant white teeth. His left canine had a small diamond embedded in it. "Only for the pretty ladies."

I grinned while making an airy giggle.

"You here with husband?" He asked, looking at the ring on my left finger.

"Oh no, I'm not married." I replied. "I only wear this to keep the losers away. I'm here with my… _ahem_ , uncle _._ "

He nodded thoughtfully as the bartender placed our martinis on the counter. "He is part of family, no?"

I took a sip. "Yes."

"Is he around?" He asked glancing behind him.

"No." I said, shaking my head. "He's lying down in our suite. He didn't feel too good."

He made what I thought was a look of empathy. "Do I know him?"

I took another sip as I brainstormed for an answer. "Only close family know him. I'm not allowed to give his name. By the way, I believe I haven't had the pleasure of knowing yours."

" _Dario Acone_. And you?"

"... _Mariella_ ," Another sip. "…Mariella… _Bulgari." I really needed to handle my liquor better…_

" _Mariella,"_ He repeated smoothly, his accent making the name role off his tongue as he took my and hand kissed it. "Beautiful name."

 _Too bad it wasn't mine…_

"You're sweet." I giggled. "So, what do you do? Are you in your family's business?"

" _Rare goods._ " He winked. " _Very rare_. Cuban cigars, ivory sculptures, masterpieces. And you?"

I did an idle shrug. "Similar. Diamonds, gold, that sort of thing."

" _Dall'Italia?"_

I nodded. I knew what _Italia_ meant. "Yes. As my uncle says… _chiave per_ _una vita felice."_ _I hoped to God I pronounced that right..._ I pretended to hiccup, hoping any mispronunciation would be down to the martini. "Excuse me."

Dario chuckled. "He is right. He is smart man."

2 more martinis later and I had lost track of time. I tried to let him do most of the talking, but this guy was full of questions I had no answers for. I was glad my imaginary uncle had told me not to talk about our family business until I was ready to ask the big question.

"I'm glad I met you tonight, Dario." I said, running my finger around the rim of my glass. "There was someone I was hoping to meet, but then I found out that he never comes to the reunions."

Dario looked at me with mild interest. "Who?"

"You might not know him," I shrugged. "But he's called _Diamond Eye_ De Esso _."_

Dario went very still. "De Esso?"

I nodded, licking my lips.

"No." He shook his head. "No, he never comes to reunions. His brother did. But I still do business with De Esso family."

 _Bingo!_

Faking surprise, I leant forward eagerly. "You know him?"

He went silent for a minute. "I never met Dante in person. I was friendly with his brother, Antonio."

I let my mouth fall open. "I didn't know he had a brother."

Dario nodded. "He was killed. His wife was taken."

I tried not to gulp. " _His…his…wife_?"

"Yes, I never met her either, but she was never seen again after his death."

A chill went up my spine as I let him go on about how De Esso's death was hard impact on _his_ family business. He rambled on for another who-knows-how-many more minutes and I was relieved when I heard Bobby's voice again.

" _Girls, Boss is waiting for you near the elevator."_

I waited for him to finish before excusing myself. "I'll be back soon."

I got up and suddenly found it difficult to walk in my heels. I met Cherry just as she walked out of the door. I didn't miss the grimace on her face despite the 3 martinis.

She _analysed_ me. "Have you been drinkin'?"

" _He_ was buying the drinks. But never mind that! I found our _friend._ "

We met Ranger and Tank by the elevators as Bobby said.

"You've been in there for over 3 hours." Ranger said, hiding his agitation well. "Have you got anything?"

I swallowed. "Yeah, I found a guy. He says he _knows of_ Dante, but he was _friendly_ with Antonio."

Cherry scoffed, "If he knew one he'd know the other if they were in the same _family business_. What's his name?"

"Dario Acone."

She shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

Ranger nodded. "But he is our guy. We'll need to apprehend him." He looked at me. "Do you think you can lure him out?"

I bit my lip, "Maybe Cherry will be better at it?"

Cherry sucked air through her teeth as she turned her gaze towards the floor. "…yeah…that might not be the best idea…I can't go back in."

"Why?" Ranger asked.

"Well…not long ago, this dirty bugger groped my arse…and I might have over reacted slightly by braking his nose…and a couple of his ribs…and a toe…"

Ranger's poker face held in place. Tank was struggling not to laugh.

Cherry turned to me. "It should be you anyway. You're the one who found him, we can't risk raisin' suspicion if a different woman suddenly cosies up t' him."

"I know, but there's just one problem. He thinks I'm totallyItalian and that my name is _Mariella Bulgari_."

Cherry raised an eyebrow at that. I caught Ranger's lips twitching.

"Besides, he talks to me in Italian and the only Italian _I know_ is what I learnt from you."

She stared at me for a heartbeat until her eyes lit up. "I can translate for you."

I blinked at her. "How? You can't be in the same room as me."

"The microphones," she held up her left hand, the one with the phony ring. "I can hear what he's saying and I can translate and tell you what to say in response."

I looked back at Tank and Ranger.

Tank shrugged.

Ranger's eyes were hard. "It's the only plan we've got. Let's get back to the suite and set up."


	14. Chapter 13

Ranger and I walked out the elevator.

My dress was now accessorised with a _diamond_ brooch that contained a hidden camera.

I could hear Cherry talking to Lester and Bobby in my ear piece. It did nothing to help my nerves.

Ranger placed his hands on my shoulders, his eyes serious. "Do you remember what I said?"

I took a deep breath. "Keep calm, keep him talking, and get the hell away from him if I feel uncomfortable."

He made a single nod before pressing his lips against my forehead. " _and_ be careful, Babe."

I returned the nod and headed back towards the ballroom.

Dario was still in his seat when I approached the bar. My seat was still vacant.

He grinned and signalled to the bartender again as I sat down. "I started to think that you stood me up."

I touched his arm. "I'm sorry. I had to check on my uncle to make sure he was ok. He's asleep so he'll be fine."

His eyes found my brooch. "If I knew no better, I'd say you are trying to show off to me."

" _Go along with it, Stephanie."_ I heard Cherry's voice say in my ear. " _He's a classic. He's the type who likes shiny things."_

I tried a coy smile as the bartender placed our drinks in front of us. "I could be…but you know what they say, _diamonds are a girl's best friend._ "

"You have many?"

I did a modest shrug. "A fair few; a couple of earrings, 5 or 6 bracelets and a pendant."

Dario leaned closer to me, his arm resting on the bar. " _un migliaio di diamanti non hanno potuto confrontare per la vostra bellezza."_

I heard Cherry groan. "He's buttering you up, Steph. He said: _a thousand diamonds could not compare to your beauty._ Keep playing on."

Keeping the bile down, I looked away with a shy grin, sipping my drink. "I bet you say that to every woman who has a diamond collection." _Which was probably the entire ballroom…_

Dario lifted my chin with one finger so I had no choice but to look at his sleazy smile. "Only the fine ones. Shall we go somewhere… _più privato?"_

" _That means: more private_ **.** _Say let's go to your suite: andiamo a vostra suite."_

I licked my lips and repeated what Cherry said which earned me a grin.

Dario stood up and held out his arm.

Feeling as though I had sealed my own fate, I took his arm and we made our way out of the ballroom.

Dario's suite was 2 floors beneath 9411 and was decorated similarly, accept the blue and white was replaced with brown and cream.

Dario had ordered us a champagne with a name I had no idea how to pronounce.

He popped open the bottle, poured 2 glasses and handed one to me. _As if I hadn't had enough to drink…_

" _Di un'amicizia!"_ He declared, holding up his glass.

" _That's: to a new friendship. Just say: un'amicizia."_

" _un'amicizia!"_ I grinned as we clinked glasses together.

We took a sip before sitting in silence for a while.

I leaned my arm against the plush brown sofa, resting my head against my hand as I looked at him with what I hoped was curiosity and not like a tipsy idiot.

"So, you do business with _Diamond Eye._ My uncle is going to be so jealous. _"_

Dario looked at me over his glass. "I thought you wanted to meet him."

"I do want to meet him." I said a bit too quickly. "My uncle is the one who wants to do _business_ with him. He's just so hard to get in touch with."

Dario sat down next to me, draping his arm across the sofa. "He likes to keep private."

Even in my tipsy state, I was aware of how close he was. _Too close._ If Cherry wasn't talking to me in my head, I would have blown my cover.

"So, I've heard." I shrugged, taking another sip. "What would my uncle have to do if he wanted to talk matters with him?"

He grinned. "He'd have to have something that _Diamond Eye_ wants. De Essos wanted cigars. I wanted marijuana. We made good deal." His hand hovered over my knee as he continued talking, working its way up to my thigh. I was too focused on it to hear what he was saying until Cherry said:

" _Would your uncle be interested in making business, or would you. Say: like what-_ _tipo cosa._ _"_

I swallowed. " _tipo cosa?"_

Dario chuckled. He started speaking again in Italian, but my alcohol-fuzzed brain could only leave me staring at him blankly.

" _Get her out of there!"_ I heard Cherry say. I took that as a hint that it was time to go.

I placed down my glass, removed his hand and stood up off the sofa. Now, I had to improvise. "My uncle wouldn't be happy about that, and besides, I've left him for too long. I should go back to my suite."

I started to head towards the door, but he grabbed my upper arm.

As I faced him, I noticed that his eyes had turned dark.

He growled something I couldn't make out. In a panic, I sent a kick into his shin.

"Cazzo cagna!" Dario roared as I rushed over to the door.

Without warning, another door adjacent to it swung open and a couple of large muscled men dressed in fancy pin-striped suits blocked my way before grabbing me.

I struggled, thrashing kicks at any part of them I could reach. They tightened their hold in what felt like an iron grip.

Dario, his face red, looked up at us. " _Sbarazzarsi di lei!_ " He snarled, approaching us. His eyes fell to my chest and before I could blink, he ripped the brooch off my dress. " _Non mi importa come_."

The two men both nodded and the one to my right said in a hushed voice: " _Keep quiet."_

They walked me out the door and into the hall way. As we approached the elevators, the man on my left pounded his fist into a fire alarm, causing a piercing shriek to shake the walls.

The last thing I saw before the elevator closed were doors being flung open as people hurried down the hall.

One man pressed a button for the lobby. Once we reached the floor, they pulled me out so I could see swarms of people making their way to the exit; shouting, crying and screaming rung in my ears as I was dragged in the opposite direction.

My heart leapt into my throat. How was Ranger and everyone going to save me with all this commotion going on?

I didn't have time to worry about that when they forced me through a pair of silver doors which I soon realised led to a now deserted kitchen.

One of them tightened their hold on me as the other went towards a massive white door with a large metal lock and digital pad with **26.5 F** in red. He tugged the lock upward and the door swung open.

I felt my throat tighten.

It was a freezer.

The man holding me gave me no time to struggle. With brute force, he shoved me in, hurtling me to the ground, and the door was slammed shut.

I was only aware of the darkness and the chilling cold biting into me. It was like I was stuck in a giant snowball. The icy air burned my arms and no matter how hard I rubbed them I made no friction to produce any heat.

I brought my left hand up to my mouth and pressed a finger to my earpiece only to find it was gone. It must have fallen out when I was shoved in. My left shoe was missing too.

"R-ranger, Tank, Lester…" I shivered, "Anyone! I'm in the f-freezer in th-th-the kitchen!"

I repeated the sentence over and over until I couldn't talk for my teeth chattering. My fingers and toes were numb. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I found it harder to breathe as the seconds went by; praying for Ranger and everyone to find me whilst wondering where the hell they were. Didn't they hear me talk through the microphone?

 _Wait..._ what if they had already left the suite after Cherry told them to get me out of Dario's clutches? They might not have heard me.

I turned towards the freezer door and repeatedly banged on it, shouting at the top of my voice until my hands were raw and sore.

Fighting the exhaustion, I lifted my left hand to my lips. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't get the words out… _I couldn't even think of the right words…_

" _R...R…Range...Ranger…"_ I mumbled, my mind suddenly going blank.

Fear gripped my insides while a heavy drowsiness started to consume me; I reached out in front of me until my hands grasped what felt like a metal cylinder. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not as I felt myself sink downwards to what I could only comprehend was the floor, clinging to the metal as best as I could. My chest and nose hurt with every breath I took.

I had stopped shivering.

I could barely move.

 _I felt so sleepy…_

My ears picked up a muffled shout, but I was too tired to care.

But then there was another, louder this time.

 _Then another…_

A dull thud echoed around the freezer and a bright light flooded into the dark confined space, making me squeeze my eyes shut.

" _Oh my god…Stephanie!"_

I squinted at the familiar voice; blinking slowly until my vision adjusted. Cherry, back in her normal clothes, rushed to my side with her eyes filled with horror.

She tore off her leather jacket and wrapped it around me before pressing a finger to something in her ear. "Lads! I found her, and get the shower runnin', she's blue with cold!"

With one arm around me, Cherry carefully lifted me to my feet, hugging me to her side, as she began half-walking-half-dragging me out of the freezer. I noticed my missing shoe lying on the kitchen floor.

"C'mon, Steph. Easy does it."

I weakly nodded my understanding, but my legs felt like lead as we exited the kitchen.

Cherry pressed a finger to her ear again which I realised a hands-free communication piece was fitted. "Carlos, Stephanie can barely walk. Meet us at the elevators in the lobby." She looked at me, lowering her hand. "Didn't you use the mic?"

"Y-yeah, I-I kept g-going until I c-couldn't-" I stopped midsentence when I looked down at my left hand. The phoney diamond on the gold band was gone. Only a few stripped wires poked out in its place.

 _I wanted to cry._

We reached the lobby just in time to see Ranger hurry out of an elevator. He rushed towards us and immediately scooped me up into his arms. I let out a sigh of relief at his warm body heat.

"Babe, you're like ice." He said, walking back into the elevator.

Cherry pressed the button for our floor. "The guests have been sent back to their rooms while the staff are being questioned after the fire alarm went off." She explained to me. "You must have been in there for 30 minutes at the least."

Once we reached our door, Cherry held it open for Ranger to carry me in. Tank and Lester looked up at us wide-eyed as Cherry led the way into the ensuite bathroom where Bobby was kneeling beside the bathtub with his hand in the water. The taps were running.

"I've kept the water at the highest comfortable temperature possible," He said as Ranger placed me down, handing Cherry's jacket back to her before unzipping and pulling down my dress while she took out my earrings and pulled the broken mic off my finger. Leaving me in my underwear, Ranger scooped me up again and gently lowered me into the tub.

I involuntary shivered at the contrast of temperatures of my frozen skin and the hot water.

Bobby slid a thermometer into my ear. It pinged and he slid it out. "89.6," He read, sucking through his teeth. "Cherry found you just in time, Bombshell. A couple of degrees lower, you would have been… _unresponsive_."

In other words, it was a miracle I didn't freeze to death.

Bobby kept checking my temperature every few minutes until he was satisfied with the final reading. Ranger helped me out of the tub as Cherry held open a bathrobe for me to slip on.

With Ranger's arm around me, we all walked out of the ensuite and into the bedroom where he sat us down on the bed, covering me with the quilt.

I looked up at Cherry who stood in front of us with her arms folded. "What did he say that needed to get me out of his suite?"

She sucked air through her teeth. " _You don't want to know_ …Speaking of which, what is his room number? I recognised his face."

"7019, but I thought you didn't know his name?"

"I don't, and that's why I need to meet him in person."

I made a vague nod as a thought occurred to me. "He might recognise you. Acone said you disappeared after Antonio died."

Cherry and Ranger exchanged glances.

"All the more reason to go then," She looked at him again. "You stay with her. Me, Tank and Lester will go down."

Without waiting for a reply, she walked out the room, leaving us alone until Bobby came in carrying a steaming mug.

He handed it to me, "It's decaf I'm afraid. You need to keep your fluids up and stay warm, Bombshell. Those martinis wouldn't have done you any favours when you were in the freezer. You'll have to keep off caffeine for a while, too."

I nodded and thanked him.

After I finished, Ranger went out the room to refill my mug. During that time, I changed out of the bathrobe and my wet underwear into some dry clothes.

Still feeling the chill, I wrapped the quilt back around me. Ranger returned by my side, this time with a mug of hot chocolate and a Rangeman hoodie.

"There were only caffeinated sachets left." He explained, hugging me close to him before kissing the top of my head after I pulled the hoodie on. "I'm glad Cherry found you in time."

I smiled and let my head fall into the crook of his neck. "Me too. I'm never going to complain about the cold again."

I felt him laugh quietly. "I've been meaning to ask. How did Santos know that Cherry and her parents moved back from Newcastle to Italy?"

My shoulders hunched awkwardly. I looked up at him, trying not to cringe at the smug smirk on his lips.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Babe, I already know Cherry wouldn't tell anything as personal as that to just anyone, let alone any of my men."

I grimaced. "I would tell you…but you might laugh and hurt Lester's feelings…"

" _Babe,"_

"you can't make me talk…"

"I'll get it out of you one way or another."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "How?"

"Chocolate cake."

 _Damn he was good…_

"Fine..." I let out a sigh of relent. "But promise not to laugh and not to tell anyone?"

"You have my word."

I bit my lower lip, glancing at the door. "Lester… _like_ likesCherry. You can figure the rest out."

He nodded. "Since she does tend to be terrifying, I'm guessing Lester is too chicken to talk to her so he's learning everything about her from you, right?"

"Right, and now you owe me a chocolate cake, Sherlock."

"I'll even have Ella make it for you." I felt him smile as he rested his cheek on the top of my head. "Santos is either very brave or very stupid."

"He kissed Tank to make her laugh so I'm thinking a little of both."

"That explains a lot."

For the next 30 minutes, we sat in the suite waiting for the others to get back. Bobby took my temperature a couple of more times until he gave me the all clear to have caffeine again.

Ranger and I were watching the cameras when Cherry came storming through the door on her own; rage and bloody murder shining in her eyes.

"We've got him in the van," She hissed. "We need to get back t' Haywood."


	15. Chapter 14

If I didn't know Cherry and had just walked in to see, through a two-way mirror, a 5'7 ½ women in tight jeans and black leather, shouting in Italian at a guy whose wrists and ankles were shackled to the floor and table, I would have been wetting my pants.

It turns out _Dario Acone_ was _Edgardo Nicodemo_. On the way back to Haywood, with Nicodemo bound and unconscious in the back of the van, Cherry explained to me and Ranger that he was an old _business partner_ of Antonio's and specialised in several types of trafficking- human included, which he dispatched by boat.

I felt lucky that he only wanted to lock me in the freezer.

The next day, when Nicodemo finally woke up, Ranger and I stood side by side as we watched Cherry scowl at Nicodemo with her arms folded. Tank and Lester sat at the desk monitoring a recorder with an attached speaker so we could hear what was being said in the other room. Personally, I didn't see the point since none of us understood Italian.

The interrogation had been going on for 15 minutes when Cherry slowly started to circle around Nicodemo, hissing something with pure hatred in her voice. Nicodemo scoffed and laughed something as he glanced at her.

Cherry responded calmly although her eyes told a different story. I don't know what she said, but I could make out _Miss Bulgari_. I tried not to groan.

"Nice alias, Bomber _."_ Tank chuckled behind me.

" _Shut up._ " I said without looking at him.

We watched as Nicodemo replied with a haughty grin. With Cherry edging closer to him, he spoke for 5 minutes until she stood still at an angle behind him. He paused for a moment (probably for dramatic effect), before the corners of his lips tilted into a smug smirk as he whispered something.

Without warning Cherry grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face into the table, hard enough for us to hear an audible _crack_. Even Ranger flinched.

Cherry pulled his head back up so we could see blood pouring out of his nose and a large gash on his forehead. She spat some words at him, her hand pulling at his roots.

Gasping heavily, Nicodemo spluttered something, spraying blood across the table. Whatever he said, she seemed satisfied with his answer as she let go and stormed out the door.

I looked at Ranger and then at Lester and Tank. No one said anything. Lester was white as a sheet.

Cherry came in, her face hard as she looked at all of us. "He hasn't said anythin' much useful, but he's just confirmed De Esso's latest _shipment_ from Sardinia. It could be drugs or humans _._ "

"Did he say where they're transporting to?" Ranger asked.

She nodded. "Marsh Point." Her eyes landed on the recorder. "Give me the recording an' I'll type up a transcript. I'm sure there's more for us to scrutinize."

Cherry turned to me, looking as though she was finding it hard to keep a straight face. "You're still known to him as _Mariella Bulgari_. He doesn't know your real name."

(\\_/)

Lester and I sat alone in the employee lounge on 4 with mugs of coffee in hand. As promised, Ranger had asked Ella to make me her spectacular chocolate cake. We both had a slice each.

"Ella doesn't make you a chocolate cake for nothing," Lester smirked, placing is empty plate in the plastic tub for dirty dishes. "What did Boss want out of you?"

I swallowed painfully. "If I tell you everything new that I know about Cherry, promise not to get mad?"

He thought it over for a second, but nodded. "Ok,"

"After you brought up about Cherry moving back to Italy with her parents, Ranger figured out that I told you and I might have mentioned to him about your _feelings_ towards her…"

His mouth fell open. " _You told him?!_ "

"But he thinks you're _very brave_ for liking her." _or very stupid…_

Lester gritted his teeth and let out a breath of air. "Alright, what do you know about her?"

"She's a massive Alice Cooper fan, she likes chrysanthemums, her favourite colour is yellow, and her middle name is Mariella."

He grinned at me. "So that's how you came up with _Mariella Bulgari_."

I flipped him the bird. "And lucky for you, Cherry likes a guy who makes her laugh so kissing Tank was a good start."

" _It was so worth it to hear her laugh…"_ He sighed happily.

" _Christ almighty_...That's why you smooched me?!"

We both jumped at the sound of Tank's voice as he and Bobby walked in with their faces filled with both amusement and disbelief.

I cringed as Lester hunched awkwardly, his face turning beetroot red.

"You gotta crush on Pavoni, Santos?" Bobby sniggered.

"Santos, is your head filled with rocks?" Tank laughed. "She nearly gave Hank a concussion the other day. Not to mention what she did to that Nicodemo guy. She'll have your balls as earrings!"

Lester glowered at them before turning away as they doubled over with laughter.

 _Time for me to step in._

"Y'know Tank," I said casually, shifting the cake crumbs around the plate with my fork. "It would be a shame if pictures of you cuddling and kissing a bunch of kittens that Lula showed me _accidently_ got sent to everyone in New Jersey..."

Tank froze. " _You wouldn't dare, Plum."_

I smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, but I would."

He narrowed his eyes at me before turning back to Lester. "Okay, Santos. Let's make this interesting; I bet $100 you won't score with Pavoni with this De Esso thing is over."

I blinked and raised an eyebrow. _"Score?_ "

"I bet $120 on that." Bobby grinned.

Lester smiled and held up his head with a new air of confidence. "Okay. I'm putting $150 up that _I can_."

… _oh, why the hell not?_ "$50 from me that he can, too."

"Only $50, Bombshell?" Bobby said shaking his head with a grin. "Really?"

I shrugged, "I'll have more cash when you two lose."

My phone vibrated to alert a text from Cherry. I looked back up at them all. "We're needed in Ranger's office. Cherry's done with the transcripts."

(\\_/)

I felt sick to my stomach.

I was reading what Nicodemo had said during his interrogation. Unsurprisingly, he was a liar. He gloated about his involvement in Antonio's work which also included a whole section about how he remembered Cherry as Clement XIIV's nieceas well as Antonio's wife.

He boasted about his recent agreement with De Esso: 12 kinds of drugs in exchange for 7 young people.

Nicodemo made some vulgar comments about how they would never make him talk- until Cherry smashed his face against the table, revealing the due date and place of their recent delivery. Drugs or people wasn't clarified.

"Did you know this was happening when Dante and Antonio were doing all of this?" I asked Cherry.

"I didn't have a clue before I was widowed," Cherry replied, shaking her head. Her eyes were sad. "Thankfully, I never saw any of it happen when I was still married. I only heard about how much cash he got from a _business partner_."

"At least now we've got a new lead." Ranger said. He addressed me and Cherry. "You two head back to Stephanie's apartment. We'll organise a stakeout for this _shipment_ and we'll get back to you until then."

(\\_/)

Cherry was the perfect houseguest.

When we got back to my place, she told me she was making mac 'n' cheese with bacon for dinner. 15 minutes after putting the baking dish into the oven, my mouth had started watering; my apartment was filled with the aroma of baked cheesy goodness.

I hugged her from the side as she started cooking the bacon bits. " _Don't ever leave me…"_

She laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

I had given a carrot and a couple of grapes to Rex when I heard my front door open.

" _Stephanie, we need to talk_."

 _Groan..._ It was Morelli.

I felt Cherry's eyes on me as I walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Morelli was still in uniform, but his shirt was untucked and open at the collar.

" _Hello to you too. Come right on in_." I said dryly.

He didn't even crack a smile _._ "We need to talk- _about us."_

"Are we actually going to talk or are we going to end up killing each other?"

He let out a sigh. "Look, Cupcake, I've had to do a double shift; I'm not in a good mood."

"A double shift?" I scoffed. "That's nothing, I almost died of hypothermia yesterday."

Morelli's eyes widened as he shook his head with his mouth agape. " _In the middle of August_? Please tell me you're joking."

"Why would I joke about something _like that_?"

"Then explain to me how you get hypothermia in summer!"

I rolled my eyes. "If you must know, I was undercover at _The Pinnacle_ and I got thrown into the freezer by this _wise guy_ and-"

" _Hold up,"_ He interrupted. "When you say _wise guy_ , do you mean _mafia_?"

"I'm helping to track down De Esso, what do you think?"

Morelli's face slowly started turning purple. The vein in his forehead started to throb. " _Jesus Christ, Stephanie!_ I haven't even been here 2 minutes and I'm already getting acid reflux!"

"Then feel free to get some Pepto and leave me alone."

He shook his head. " _Leave you alone?_ I can't leave you for a minute without worrying my ass off that you're gonna get yourself killed one of these days."

"Why are you worried about me? We're not together anymore."

Morelli clenched his teeth and sucked in a breath of air. "That's why we need to talk about _us_. I noticed that you're spending a lot of time with Ranger, and I suppose he was at _The Pinnacle_ too?"

I didn't answer, but my silence said it all.

He shook his head again. "I've told you to keep your distance from him. How many times has your life been on the line because of _him_?!"

"He's kept me safe better than you have god knows how many times." I seethed, hand on my hips. "Why am I even discussing this with you? We're _not_ together anymore, _you_ don't have any part of my life. _I_ make my own choices."

"Your choices are what almost get you killed!" He yelled. "I've got a good mind to-"

" _Ahem!"_

Morelli froze as Cherry stood at the end of the foyer, her arms folded and eyes narrowed. His face paled within seconds.

"It's so nice to see you takin' an interest in Stephanie's wellbeing, especially since she almost froze to death yesterday." She said chillingly calm.

I heard him gulp. "Cherry, I didn't know you were here…"

"She's staying with me," I explained with a smirk on my face. "everyone, but me, at Rangeman is terrified of her. I don't understand why, we've become great friends."

"Especially since we discovered we had our first kiss with the same bloke."

Morelli blinked at us. " _Me_?"

"No, Joey, Ranger. _Yes, you!_ " Cherry tutted. "We both know what you were like as a teenager, too. The only difference was my uncle had his walking stick at your arse before you could try anythin' funny with me."

Morelli pressed his lips together before saying, "You can't say that Manoso is any better than me, _do you even know what he's like?_ "

"Considerin' he saved my life and helped me get a position at MI6, yeah, I do know what he's like. As does Uncle Roberto who gave him his own rosary beads instead of a blistered backside." Cherry looked at me as Morelli's jaw hit the floor. "Dinner's almost ready." She said before walking back to the kitchen.

"Manoso _saved_ Cherry?!" He whispered once she was out of sight.

"Yeah." I nodded. "You're terrified of her too, aren't you?"

"Cupcake, I wouldn't be surprised if she breathes fire." He sighed. "Now, back to _us_ …"

I avoided his eye when Cherry's advice echoed in my head: _If you have fallen in love with two people then you should be with the second person, because if you were really in love with the first person, ya wouldn't have fallen in love twice._

I blew out a breath of air when an image of the _second person_ appeared in my mind's eye.

I looked up at Morelli. "Joe, there isn't going to be an _us_ anymore _._ I don't even think there ever _was_ an _us_ to begin with…"

His face turned serious. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That we should stop pretending that we could make this work and see other people? Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Morelli looked at me for a heartbeat before lowering his eyes to the floor. He nodded. "You're right."

 _He better not be agreeing with me just because he knew Cherry was 10 feet away…_

He placed his hands on my shoulders. "Shall we call this a mutual breakup?"

I nodded as he pulled me into a hug. Without saying goodbye, he let go of me and walked out the door.

I waited for the rush of tears to pour out of my eyes. _But they never came…_

I checked my heartbeat. _Normal._

My pulse. _Still there…_

 _I felt fine_ …

I looked up to find Cherry watching me.

"Dinner's on the table." She _analysed_ me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I walked with her towards the dining room. "I think so." We sat at the table where two platefuls of extremely cheesy macaroni topped with bacon sat waiting for us. "Y'know, before you joined in, I was sure me and Joe were about to kill each other."

"Aye." Cherry nodded. "I have an effect on people."

I forked a chunk into my mouth and almost moaned from the cheesy gooey goodness. "Someone mentioned a while ago that we should have gotten _couples counselling_ , but it was like 300 bucks an hour."

She gave a short laugh. "Steph, you two wouldn't have needed a counsellor. You needed a referee."


End file.
